Emerald Fire
by Emerald Charms
Summary: The story of the Potters is well-known in the wizarding world. There is no adult, no child who doesn't know Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. It's only natural that, when he finally comes to Hogwarts, great things are expected from him. Despite not having defeated Voldemort, Valerie is put under the same pressure. She is, after all, the sister of Harry Potter, isn't she?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi to everyone out there! ;)**

 **This is the first fanfiction I have ever written and also the first one I`m posting here. This is the longest project I have worked on so far, it is not finished yet and I would greatly appreciate your opinions on this one. I`m not asking you to be nice, just be honest, please. ;)  
**

 **It is heavily leaned on the books, especially the first two to three years as my main protagonist still spends a lot of time with Harry and their lives are basically the same.**

 **Please let me know what you think of it and if I should continue! Thanks, guys! :)**

 **I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I did create my OC though. :D**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Note: I have also posted the story on hexrpg. In case you find it there, that's alright (unless the author listed there is not called Elena Hopkins, that is). ;)**

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Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their niece and nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.

The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed.

Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-coloured bonnets - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that two other children lived in the house, too.

Yet Harry and Valerie Potter were still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Their Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

They both woke with a start. Their aunt rapped on the door again.

"Up!" she screeched.

Valerie heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. She rolled onto her back and tried to remember the dream she had been having.

It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it and she had a funny feeling she'd had the same dream before.

Their aunt was back outside the door.

"Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," said Harry who was lying next to his sister on the way too small bed.

"Well, get a move on, I want you two to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

They groaned in unison.

"What did you say?" their aunt snapped through the door.

"Nothing, nothing..."

Dudley's birthday - how could she have forgotten?

Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where they both slept.

His sister, Valerie, on the other hand had never developed fond feelings for the little hairy animals. In fact, to even say that she was afraid of them would have been a vast understatement; Valerie was terrified of spiders.

In her opinion, there was nothing more frightening and disgusting anywhere on this planet than a fat, black, hairy spider.

Valerie waited until Harry was dressed before she, too, changed into her daily clothes; a mouse-grey skirt that was so long that it reached up to her chest and one of Aunt Petunia`s old blouses.

When she was dressed, they went down the hall into the kitchen.

The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents.

It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Valerie, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody.

Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.

Being Harry`s twin sister, Valerie was of the same small, skinny built with the same unruly black hair and bright green eyes.

The only differences between them, apart from being of the opposite gender, were Harry`s terrible eyesight and the scar in the form of a lightning bolt on his forehead.

How her brother had gotten the scar, neither of them knew. Apart from what their aunt and uncle had told them about their parents` death, being that they both had died in a terrible car accident ten years ago, neither Harry nor Valerie had any knowledge about what exactly _had_ happened that day. They simply had to accept what they were told and both had very quickly learned to better not ask any questions at all about their parents or their past.

Harry had had the scar as long as he could remember, and the first question Valerie could ever remember him asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.

"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."

Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.

Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.

"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.

About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way -all over the place.

It was easier for Valerie as Aunt Petunia simply braided her long black hair into long braids and did usually not comment on the fact that her hair, too, had a will of its own.

In fact, unlike her brother, Valerie was left alone by the Dursleys most of the time and she was glad for it since it meant that Dudley didn`t abuse her as his punching bag. She sometimes felt like a fly on the wall that went unnoticed by the others.

It was easy for her to listen in on conversations that were not meant for other ears to be heard. Even when Valerie was in the same room, people seemed not to notice her at all.

She didn`t understand it. How was it possible for anyone not to see her when she was so obviously in plain sight?

As usual, none of the Dursleys acknowledged her presence and she quietly sat down at the table as far away from Uncle Vernon as physically possible.

Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.

Maybe that was why Dudley loved to chase him around so much?

Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room.

Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.

"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

Valerie refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing fairly well the consequences should Uncle Vernon catch the gesture.

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.

Valerie and Harry, who both could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down their bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.

Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right''

Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.

Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..."

"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.

"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."

Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Valerie, Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take them." She jerked her head in their direction.

Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Valerie's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry and Valerie were left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away.

Valerie hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made them look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.

"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at them as though they'd planned this.

Valerie knew she ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when she reminded herself it would be a whole year before they had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.

Oh, no, Valerie thought in horror. Please, not Marge…

Aunt Marge was, if at all possible, even worse than Mrs. Figg could ever be. Where the oldy lady down the street was a cat lover, Aunt Marge bred dogs. Not the cute sort that made children`s hearts melt and that you'd want to pick up and cuddle - no, Aunt Marge bred bulldogs. Her favourite one being a nasty little creature by the name of Ripper who liked to chase them both around the house and their only way of escape was climbing up one of the trees in her garden.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the children."

The Dursleys often spoke about Harry and Valerie like this, as though they weren't there - or rather, as though they were something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like slugs.

"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"

"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.

"You could just leave us here," Harry put in hopefully (they'd be able to watch what they wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).

Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"I won't blow up the house," said Harry. "And I doubt that Val is going to either. Am I right, Val?"

She eagerly nodded and her eyes hopefully swayed from Uncle Vernon to Aunt Petunia, but they weren't listening.

"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave them in the car..."

"That car's new, they`re not sitting in it alone..."

Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.

"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let them spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I... don't... want... them... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "They always sp- spoil everything!" He shot Harry and Valerie a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.

Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.

Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.

Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.

Half an hour later, Valerie and Harry, who couldn't believe their luck, were sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in their life.

Their aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with them, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken them both aside.

"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."

"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly.."

But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.

The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and Valerie and it was just no good telling the Dursleys they didn't make them happen.

It was just Valerie`s luck, that Harry had most of the shouting and scolding directed at him – which, of course, was rather unfortunate for Harry who often wished it were the other way around. He also was the one who got the more severe punishments.

Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.

Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.

He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) - The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.

On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump.

Valerie, on the other hand, was ignored by most of the students at their school. They did, occasionally, laugh at her baggy clothing and hand-me-down school supply, but they never chased her around or bullied her.

Once, a few years ago, when it was their first week in class, a girl called Jenna Jerkins – a massive blonde with a face like a pig – had tormented Valerie in the school yard. Valerie, who had desperately wished to be invisible that day, was rather surprised when the other girl had suddenly lost interest in her newest hobby. Unfortunately, however, it seemed that – somehow – Valerie`s wish had been fulfilled as neither the students nor the teachers in class had actually been able to _see_ her which, as a result, meant that she had been reported absent that day. Her aunt and uncle had both been notified of her bad behaviour and Valerie had spent the rest of the week in the closet under the stairs.

But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, their cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.

While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, Valerie and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.

"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Valerie, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."

Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Valerie, his face like a gigantic beet with a moustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

Dudley and Piers sniggered.

"I know they don't," said Valerie. "It was only a dream."

But she wished she hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than them asking questions, it was them talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think Valerie and Harry might get dangerous ideas.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Valerie and her brother what they wanted before they could hurry them away, they bought them both a cheap lemon ice pop.

It wasn't bad, either, Valerie thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.

Valerie had the best morning she'd had in a long time. They were both careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting Harry.

Valerie, who had no desire whatsoever to cause any sort of uproar on a peaceful and sunny day like this one, stayed behind with her brother and smiled at him happily. He returned the smile and took her hand in his.

At least, they both had each other.

They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry and Valerie were allowed to finish the first.

Valerie felt, afterward, that she should have known it was all too good to last.

After lunch, they went to the reptile house.

It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons.

Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.

"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.

"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.

Harry moved in front of the tank, Valerie followed slightly behind him, and looked intently at the snake. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least they got to visit the rest of the house. And there were two of them, whereas the snake didn't even have a companion.

The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.

It winked.

Harry and Valerie stared.

Then they looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. They looked back at the snake and Harry winked, too.

Valerie wearily eyed her brother. Had he, too, seen the snake wink at them? Obviously, he must have. Why else would he return the gesture? But snakes didn't just wink at people… At least not from what Valerie knew about those reptiles which was close to nothing – still, she was quite sure that it was something that was unheard of.

The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a strange look and Valerie could hear it hiss as if trying to tell them something.

And then, as if it was the most usual thing, Harry started to hiss back, making sounds similar to the ones the animal in the cage had just made.

The snake nodded vigorously. Not that snakes were capable of nodding but Valerie simply couldn't find any other words to describe it.

Valerie`s mouth fell open and she stared at her brother with wide eyes.

"Harry, what are you doing?" She whispered and took a step backward.

He ignored her and, instead, began to hiss again. She had to admit that it was a little bit frightening.

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Valerie peered at it.

Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

Where they _talking_ to each other?

The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Valerie read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo.

Again, Harry made some of those mysterious hissing-noises and the snake shook its head.

A deafening shout behind them made all three of them jump.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

Harry sat up and Valerie gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.

As the snake slid swiftly past them, Valerie could have sworn a low, hissing voice before it vanished around a corner.

The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"

The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Valerie had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"

Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, while Valerie was forced to share the living room with her aunt and uncle. She was not allowed to see him.

To her great dismal, Uncle Vernon kept an annoyingly close eye on her.

"If I ever find out that you sneak food into that closet, girl," he hissed, his fat red face only inches away from hers. "You will never see the light of day again!"

Uncle Vernon hated Harry. Somehow, he`d found out that Valerie provided him with food during his prolonged stays in the closet which, in return, made him hate Valerie almost as much as her brother.

They'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as they could remember, ever since they'd been babies and their parents had died in that car crash. She couldn't remember being in the car when their parents had died.

Sometimes, when she strained her memory during long hours in their cupboard, she came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and the piercing scream of a woman. This, she supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't imagine where all the green light came from.

She couldn't remember their parents at all. Their aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course they were forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.

When she had been younger, Valerie had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take them both away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were their only family.

Yet sometimes she thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know them – or her brother at least. Very strange strangers they were, too.

A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to Harry once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything.

A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word.

The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Valerie tried to get a closer look.

At school, they had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang especially hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.

Since Valerie was related to Harry and wore equally baggy clothes, they also stayed away from her – if they weren't busy enough ignoring her, that was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Good morning!**

 **I though I'd post the next chapter before leaving for university today; so here it is! :) Enjoy reading it an please let me know what you think!**

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The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time

out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.

The extended punishment had the negative side effect of Valerie having to set up camp in the living room at night. What was even more unfortunate, was that she had to wait for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to finish watching the news or whatever else it was that was running on the TV and go to their bedroom, before she was even allowed to enter.

"There is no need for someone like you to watch the news!" Uncle Vernon had bellowed when Valerie had asked if she could stay for the eight o´clock news.

So she had only murmured a quiet "You`re right, Uncle Vernon" and had retreated to the kitchen instead. She was not allowed anywhere near the closet. Dudley had made it his personal duty to see to that.

Valerie was glad school was over, but for Harry there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day.

Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite

happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry Hunting.

This was why Harry and Valerie spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where they could see a tiny ray of hope.

It was also one of the only opportunities to do something else than sitting cramped up in their closet, playing with Uncle Vernon`s old toy soldiers.

The only company they occasionally had, were spiders. Valerie hated those animals with all her heart and loved every minute she did not have to spend in that awfully dark and dusty place.

However, things were about to change soon for them.

When September came, they would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in their life, they wouldn't be with Dudley. Valerie knew that Harry was more than relieved to be away from their cousin.

Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too.

Harry and Valerie, on the other hand, were going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry, just to annoy him. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"

"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick."

Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. Valerie giggled but immediately set off after her brother, of fear, Dudley would break his routine and hit her too.

One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry and Valerie at Mrs. Figg's.

Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before.

She let them watch television and gave them both a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. They ate it without complaint, though, knowing very well that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would never even think of giving them even a small crumb of cake – not even if a mouldy one.

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.

How hitting each other with sticks could possibly be helpful in the future was beyond Valerie.

As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up.

Valerie didn't trust herself to speak. She thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. When she glanced over to Harry, he looked equally determined not to break out into laughter.

There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry and Valerie went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink.

They went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.

"What's this?" Harry asked Aunt Petunia.

Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.

"Your new school uniform," she said.

He looked in the bowl again.

"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of Dudley's old

things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've

finished."

Valerie seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. Harry sat down at the table while she tried not to think about how she was going to look on her first day at Stonewall High - like she was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.

Valerie had hoped that their new school uniform would at least be an improvement compared to their daily clothes. Apparently, she had been mistaken.

Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's and Valerie's new uniform.

Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.

They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.

"Make Harry get it."

"Get the mail, Harry."

"Make Dudley get it."

"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."

Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail.

Valerie was glad that she usually was kept out of such bickering that always ended with Harry having to do the job.

A few moments later, Harry returned to the kitchen with four things in his hands: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and –two letters; one for Harry and one for Valerie.

She took hers out of his hand, unnoticed by the Dursleys.

Valerie stared at her brother who looked equally surprised, her heart twanging like a giant elastic band.

No one, ever, in their whole life, had written to them. Who would? They had no friends, no other relatives - they didn't belong to the library, so they'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.

Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:

 _Miss V. Potter_

 _The Cupboard under the Stairs_

 _4 Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.

Turning the envelope over, her hand trembling, Valerie saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from his seat. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.

Harry hurriedly went over to their uncle, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.

Valerie, who had still been in a state of surprise, did the same.

Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.

"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk. -."

"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"

Valerie looked over to Harry who was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.

"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.

"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge.

"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.

Very slowly, Valerie slipped her own letter under her blouse. Unfortunately, Dudley caught her right before the envelope vanished underneath the white material and grabbed the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon was quicker, snatched it out of his son's hands and held it high out of his reach.

Aunt Petunia took Harry's letter curiously and read the first line.

For a moment, it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!"

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry, Valerie and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored.

He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.

"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.

"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."

"Get out, all three of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.

Valerie, who knew better than to argue in such a situation, grabbed Harry by the arm but he didn't move.

"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.

Sensing danger, Valerie backed out of the kitchen-

"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.

"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the

scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the

kitchen door behind them.

Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. He moved to the side a little when Valerie lay down beside him, pressing her ears against the cold surface of the door.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address - how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching - spying - might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want -"

Valerie could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.

"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything...

"But -"

"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"

Valerie frowned. Stamp put what nonsense?

That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry and Valerie, who had been puzzling over who`d sent the letters all day, in their cupboard.

"Where are our letters?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to us?"

"No one. it was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."

"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had our cupboard on it."

"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.

Valerie tried not to scream when one of them crawled up her leg and hastily shook it off.

Uncle Vernon took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.

"Er - yes - about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking... you're really getting a bit big for it... we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.

"Why?" said Harry.

"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."

The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took them one trip upstairs to move everything they owned from the cupboard to this room.

Valerie sat down on the bed and stared around her. She was relieved to be rid of all the spiders that resided in their old closet.

Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next-door neighbour's dog; in the

corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite programme had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.

Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.

Valerie loved to read and the thought of staying awake until late at night with a book in her lap made her heart leap with excitement.

From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't want him in there... I need that room... make him get out..."

Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed next to her.

Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Somehow, she knew what he was thinking: today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.

Despite the many books she`d be able to read now, Valerie had to agree with that.

Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet.

Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back.

Valerie was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing she'd been faster with hiding the letter.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.

When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.

They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive -'"

With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.

Valerie and Aunt Petunia watched the bizarre spectacle from the door.

After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.

"Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley - go - just go."

Harry went up the stairs without another word while Dudley stood next to his father, pouting. Uncle Vernon ignored him and went straight over to his wife, almost knocking down Valerie who barely managed to squeeze past him into the hall. The door to the kitchen slammed shut behind him but this time, neither Valerie nor Dudley stayed to listen in on the conversation.

Dudley made his way upstairs to his room with a sour look on his face, banging the walls with his Smeltings stick.

Valerie waited until she heard her cousin slam the bedroom door behind him. She didn't want to risk getting hit by his stick. Dudley was unpredictable when he was in a bad mood – which, to Harry`s misfortune, meant that he liked to leash out at anyone who got in his way. It was safer to keep a good distance between them.

Valerie was at the foot of the stairs, when her eye caught something yellow on the ground. There, slightly hidden beneath the doormat, lay a letter. It was the same thick, yellow envelope that Valerie had been holding in her hands mere hours ago.

She cast a quick glance towards the kitchen door, just to make sure that nobody was watching, and picked up the envelope with trembling hands.

 _Miss V. Potter_

 _The Smallest Bedroom_

 _4 Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

Her heart leaped excitedly in her chest. Careful that no one would be able to spot it, she slid it underneath her blouse and silently made her way up the stairs and to their new bedroom where Harry had apparently spent the entire time walking round and round in circles.

He had a determined look on his face, his bright green eyes narrowed in concentration.

It could only mean one thing; he had a plan.

When Valerie asked him about it, Harry simply told her that he would not fail to get their letters next time.

"But, Harry," Valerie said carefully. "What if they don't send any more letters?"

She decided not to mention the fact that there was still her own letter that she had found under the doormat a few minutes ago. She thought it was the best for both of them if she read it first before telling her brother about it, fearing he might go to Uncle Vernon about it (knowing his temper, she was almost entirely sure he would).

"Listen, Val," Harry said excitedly. "Whoever wrote these letters knew we were moving to Dudley`s old bedroom. They were watching us, which means they'll probably know that we didn't receive any of their letters. They will write again, believe me."

The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning, waking Valerie with a start. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He must have set it to get up earlier than usually this morning.

Valerie noticed that her brother was also more quiet, carefully avoiding to make any loud noise to not wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.

He was going to wait for the postman, Valerie realised. He wanted to get the letters for number four first.

Her heart hammered as she intently listened into the darkness in hope of getting a hint at whether his plan was successful and –

"AAARG!"

Valerie almost leapt into the air.

Lights clicked on upstairs as Aunt Petunia came rushing out of her bedroom, closely followed by Dudley and Valerie.

Apparently, Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea.

Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap.

Valerie could see three letters addressed in green ink.

"I want –" Harry began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before their eyes. Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.

"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."

"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."

"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.

On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry and Valerie who still hadn't found the right time to read the letter she'd rescued as Aunt Petunia constantly found tasks for her to do around the house. By the time Valerie was finished, she was too tired to do anything else than going to sleep.

As the letters couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.

Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand.

Twenty-four letters to Harry and Valerie found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window.

While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.

"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.

On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.

"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today -"

Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry and Valerie leapt into the air trying to catch one.

"Out! OUT!"

Uncle Vernon seized them both around the waist and threw them into the hall.

When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut.

They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his moustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

He looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no one dared argue.

Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway.

Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.

They drove. And they drove.

Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake'em off... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.

They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.

By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programmes he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.

Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds while Valerie had somehow gotten lucky enough to get her own room with a small single bed and damp, musty sheets.

The cupboard in the opposite corner of the room remained empty as Uncle Vernon had explained earlier in the evening that they would only be staying there for one night.

Having her own room finally gave Valerie the opportunity she`d been waiting for since she sneaked the letter into Dudley`s old bedroom. She swung her legs out of the bed and tip-toed over to her bag and pulled out the envelope she had taken with her (she`d almost forgotten it among all the chaos).

Valerie didn't dare turn on the light of fear, Uncle Vernon could burst into the room and take the letter away from her. Instead, she sat down on the windowsill where the light of the street lanterns and occasionally passing cars illuminated the parchment enough for her to read it.

Several pages were included, she realised when she opened the envelope and took out the letter.

The sentences were written in the same green ink as the first letter she`d received. The handwriting was neat and easy for her to read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Ms. Potter,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Valerie read through the first page with wide eyes, her little heart bumping excitedly behind her ribcage.

Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Was this some kind of joke?

I had to be, there was no other explanation. Wizards; such things didn't exist. The Dursleys had shouted at her and Harry very time one of them had mentioned even the slightest bit of 'abnormal occurrences'.

Yet, why would anyone send dozens, no _hundreds_ of letters and go out of their way for Harry and her to receive them, if it was merely a joke?

She read on:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

 _UNIFORM_

 _First-year students will require:_

 _1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

 _2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

 _COURSE BOOKS_

 _All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

 _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ _by Miranda Goshawk_

 _A History of Magic_ _by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ _by Emeric Switch_

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ _by Phyllida Spore_

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_ _by Arsenius Jigger_

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ _by Newt Scamander_

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ _by Quentin Trimble_

 _OTHER EQUIPMENT_

 _1 wand_

 _1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _1 set glass or crystal phials_

 _1 telescope_

 _1 set brass scales_

 _Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

 _PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_

 _Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions_

Valerie read through the letter again, then again and again until she was sure that she hadn't imagined reading words like wand or dragon hide.

She`d give anything for a school like Hogwarts to be real because, surely, this couldn't be the case – or could it?

Should she tell Harry about the letter and ask him what he thought of it? Was she supposed to reply to the sender?

" _We await your owl by no later than 31 July…_ " Valerie read again. She frowned.

What did they mean by 'we await you owl'? Surely, they couldn't mean an actual owl, a real living and breathing animal. Where was she even supposed to find one? Valerie could hardly go to Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia and present them with the idea of buying an owl. Apart from the fact that they would never let her have any kind of pet, they would certainly ask why she would have need of an owl all of a sudden and then they'd find out about the letter.

No, it was best if she kept this to herself and talked to Harry about it. She wasn't sure what he`d say or, more importantly, what he could do but it was better than doing nothing at all, she decided.

The only problem, Valerie realised, was that as long as they were away from Privet Drive, there was no way she could catch her brother alone to talk to him without the Dursleys hearing it. If the letter could be trusted she only had two more days until they, whoever _they_ were, – Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall? Albus Dumbledore? – would expect her to answer.

Valerie folded the letter and put it back in the envelope that she carefully put back into her bag where it stayed hidden underneath her clothes and toiletries.

With a sigh, she pulled the damp blanket up to her chin. Sleep did not come easily that night; images of owls carrying hundreds of letters and Uncle Vernon burning every single one of them with a nasty grin on his face, kept her awake and it was not until dawn that Valerie finally slipped into a dreamless slumber.

They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.

Valerie had to fight hard not to yawn every few minutes and let her eyes fall shut. Harry, who also looked like he didn't get a lot of sleep, flashed her a sympathetic smile.

They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.

"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."

She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:

 _Mr. H. Potter_

 _Room 17_

 _Railview Hotel_

 _Cokeworth_

Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.

"I also got about another hundred for a Ms. V. Potter" She added, looking slightly confused at Uncle Vernon`s reaction.

"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.

"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.

Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a ploughed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.

Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.

It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.

"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television. "

Valerie had to stifle the urge to groan.

Monday. This reminded her of something. If it was Monday - and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television - then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Valerie's eleventh birthday.

Of course! How could she have forgotten after reading that letter the night before?

Naturally, her and Harry`s birthdays were never exactly fun - last year, the Dursleys had given them both a coat hanger and while Harry had also received pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks, Valerie had gotten another blouse from Aunt Petunia`s collection – a yellow one she had been forced to wear for an entire month.

Still, you weren't eleven every day.

Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.

"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

It was very cold outside the car.

Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.

"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-grey water below them.

"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"

It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.

After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.

The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.

Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.

He was in a very good mood.

Obviously, he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Valerie privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer her up at all.

As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows.

Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry and Valerie were left to find the softest bit of floor they could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.

The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on.

Valerie couldn't sleep. She shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, her stomach rumbling with hunger. She could feel Harry next to her suffering the same fate. They huddled closer together, trying to use their body heat – which by now felt like it had reach a point close to zero – to get some warmth.

Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Valerie she'd be eleven in ten minutes' time.

She lay and watched their birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.

Five minutes to go.

Valerie heard something creak outside. She hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although she might be warmer if it did.

Four minutes to go.

Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that they'd be able to steal one somehow.

Three minutes to go.

Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that?

And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?

One minute to go and they'd be eleven.

Thirty seconds... twenty ... ten... nine - maybe she'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him - three... two...

one...

BOOM.

The whole shack shivered and Harry and Valerie both sat bolt upright, staring at the

door.

Someone was outside, knocking to come in.

* * *

 **Things are beginning to pick up a little from here.**

 **Note: It looks like my text format changes when I upload a chapter. Any ideas on why? The text would be easier to read if there was more space between certain passages but as soon as I click 'save', the changes don't appear.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Good evening everyone!**

 **I hope you've all had a nice weekend! I actually wanted to wait with this chapter until tomorrow but - maybe due to some technical problems - my story is not showing as having been updated this morning. I'm posting the third chapter now just to see if it works this time as people can read the new chapters but it still says: Published: 05/02/17 when it should have added a Updated: 06/02/17 - which it hasn't.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter. ;) I still hope to get some reviews on what you think of the story!**

* * *

BOOM.

They knocked again.

Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"

There was a pause. Then -

SMASH!

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

Valerie leapt into the air and fled to hide behind the old sofa. That was another difference between her and Harry; while he bravely stood his ground, she liked to observe from a distance and then decide whether it was safe to come out. Some would call it cowardice, Valerie liked to call it caution.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little.

He turned to look at them all. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."

He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. Valerie eyed the giant wearily.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.

Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yeh dad, but yeh've got yeh mom's eyes."

The stranger frowned and looked around as if searching for something. "Wait a minute…" He said in his deep voice. "There should be two of yeh!"

He spotted Valerie who was still crouching behind the sofa. The stranger bent down somewhat – apparently in an attempt to appear less frightening.

"'Ello, there!" He said in a friendly tone. "Yeh must be Valerie, then! No need ter be scared…"

Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sit!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.

Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

"Anyway – Harry, Valerie," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh both. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in

green icing.

Valerie, who'd come out of her hiding spot, looked up at the giant. She meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to her mouth, and she instead heard Harry say, "Who are you?"

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.

It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Valerie felt the warmth wash over her as though she'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.

Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage.

Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.

Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

The giant chuckled darkly.

"Yeh great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

He passed the sausages to Harry and Valerie, who was so hungry she had never tasted

anything so wonderful, but she still couldn't take his eyes off the giant.

Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, she said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

So Hogwarts was a real school? Not just a prank someone had pulled on them?

Valerie started at the giant, Hagrid, with wide eyes. Was he here to take them with him?

But what school employed a giant? Surely, no one could possibly be _that_ tall!

"Er - no," said Harry. Valerie remained silent.

Hagrid looked shocked.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly.

"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It' s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"

"All what?" asked Harry.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered and Valerie flinched, quickly taking cover behind her brother. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger, he seemed to fill the whole hut.

The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.

"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy –these children! - know nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"

Valerie thought this was going a bit far. They had been to school, after

all, and their marks weren't bad.

"I know some things," Harry said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."

But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."

"What world?" Asked Harry.

Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" he boomed.

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble."

Hagrid stared wildly at Harry, then at Valerie.

"But yeh must know about yet mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. _You're_ famous, Harry."

"What? My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"

"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.

"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.

Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sit! I forbid you to tell the children anything!"

A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?"

"Kept what from us?" said Harry eagerly.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.

Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yet heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yer a wizard."

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind

could be heard.

"- a what?" gasped Harry.

"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."

Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea.

"Oh!" Hagrid said. "Righ'. 'course, I got one fer yeh, too, Valerie."

He pulled out another letter and and handed it to her, but she whispered. "I already have mine, thank you."

Hagrid halted and looked down at her, then glanced over at Harry. "How come yeh got yer's bu' Harry don'?"

Valerie chewed on her lower lip. "I sneaked it into my room when no one was looking."

The twinkle Valerie had seen earlier in his eyes, returned and Hagrid let out a deep, rumbling chuckle that shook the entire sofa. "Clever…"

"Sorry I didn't tell you, Harry," she apologised. "I just couldn't find the right time and I wasn't even sure if it was real and-"

"It's okay, Val," Harry said. "So, you've read it? The letter?"

She nodded.

Harry pulled out his own letter and began to read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme_

 _Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts_

 _School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all_

 _necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall,_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl - a long quill, and a roll of parchment.

With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Valerie could read upside down:

 _Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

 _Given Harry his letter._

 _Taking him to buy his things tomorrow._

 _Weather's horrible. Hope you're Well._

 _Hagrid_

Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Valerie realized her mouth was open and closed it quickly.

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They're not going," he said.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.

"A what?" said Harry, interested.

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"

"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew we're - I'm a - a wizard?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course, we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed

she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Harry and Valerie had both gone very white.

As soon as she found her voice she said, "Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry and Valerie Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter

Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"

"Who? " Harr asked urgently.

"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Valerie looked at him curiously, her bright green eyes sparkling with curiosity.

No one had ever been able or willing to tell them anything about their past.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Valerie, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."

Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.

"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.

"Nah -can't spell it. All right - Voldemort. " Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an' -"

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway..."

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too, Harry. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the

Prewetts - an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

Something very painful was going on in Valerie's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, she saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before - and she remembered something else, for the first time in her life: a high, cold, cruel

laugh.

Hagrid was watching them sadly.

"Why-" Valerie spoke up, unsure. "Why didn't he kill me? Why don't I have a… a scar then?"

Hagrid sighed. "Not sure. Maybe he decided ter go after Harry first… Maybe 't was jus' a coincidence…" He looked back at Harry. "Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."

"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon.

Valerie jumped; she had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were

clenched.

"Now, you listen here, you two," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat.

Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you - one more word... "

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.

Valerie, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.

"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?" She asked.

"Good question, Valerie. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill yer family. Makes Harry even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don~ reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry." Hagrid looked at the boy. "There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, and Valerie, despite feeling pleased and proud of her brother, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A witch and wizard? Them? How could they possibly be? They'd spent their life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if they were really what Hagrid said they were, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock them in their cupboard? If Harry had once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?

"Hagrid," Valerie said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a witch."

Harry nodded. "Yes. Wouldn't we have already known if we were?"

To her surprise, Hagrid chuckled.

"Not a witch and wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"

Valerie looked into the fire. Now she came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with them had happened when they, Valerie and Harry, had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow

back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?

When she thought of strange occurrences that were related to herself, Valerie could only come up with all the times no one had even noticed her standing right next to them.

Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively

beaming at him.

"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

"But Hagrid," Valerie said disappointed. "I've never done anything unusual. I can't be a… a witch. Maybe that was why Vol- why You Know Who didn't attack me. Because I don't have any magical abilities."

At that, Hagrid burst out laughing. It was a strange sound, as if a giant rock had suddenly come to life and started laughing, not an actual person.

"Valerie Potter, not a witch? Dumbledore wouldn' have sent yeh that letter if there was no magical blood in yeh, don' worry!"

But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "They are going to Stonewall High and they'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -"

"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s children goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their names've been down ever since they were born. They're off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themselves. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had -

Albus Dumbled-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM

MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE- IN- FRONT- OF- ME!"

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Valerie saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in

his trousers.

Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

He cast a sideways look at Harry and Valerie under his bushy eyebrows.

"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job"

Valerie nodded.

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" asked Valerie.

"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

She wondered why he didn't answer her question but, out of politeness, decided not to inquire any further. Harry didn't seem to have noticed Hagrid's rapid change of topic as Hagrid took off his thick black coat and threw it to him.

"You can both kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys!**

 **I'm trying to upload daily but with my busy schedule, I'm afraid it won't be possible. I also tried to respond to a review by a guest user, but couldn't figure out how (I'm still new to the site).**

 **guest: The idea was/is to use the books and include Valerie as Harry's sister in the story. It will not always be so close to the text and I have already done chances in chapter four so that it is not the exact same. I did, however, keep Hagrid's dialogue and only added and changed bits and pieces. I'm not a native speaker so his dialect is kind of hard for me to write. I'm working on it though. ;) The content of the chapters, at least in the beginning, is the same - with the exception of Valerie being added.**

 **Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that you'll enjoy the story! I will respond of suggestions or complaints so please don't hold back with leaving behind reviews! Even if they are not kind. I'm here to learn and improve my writing skills! :)**

* * *

Valerie woke early the next morning.

Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight while she thought about what had actually happened the day before. Or had she merely dreamt it?

To be honest, Valerie couldn't tell.

She could remember her excitement when she'd counted down the minutes to her eleventh birthday, even though the Dursleys had never bothered to make those occasions special for her and Harry.

Then, and this was when things had started to become rather strange, a giant with a hairy face and beetle eyes had broken down the door and he'd called Uncle Vernon a… a Muggle – someone without magical abilities. But magic didn't exist, did it?

Hagrid, Valerie remembered his name now, had told her and Harry about a wizarding school called Hogwarts and that they'd both be attending it in September. That couldn't be right!

"It was a dream", she heard Harry next to her whisper firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."

Valerie giggled softly.

"Harry," she whispered back. "Seems like we had the same dream then…"

"It was a good dream," Harry said. "I don't think I want to wake up just yet."

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

"And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door," Harry said with a sigh.

Despite having the feeling that their dream had been all too real, Valerie didn't dare open her eyes. She was afraid that, as soon as she'd open them, she'd be back in Dudley's old bedroom, Harry lying next to her on the bed.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Wait. Aunt Petunia wouldn't make a tapping noise. She was always much louder and more aggressive than that. Where was her usual "Get up! Now! Up, I said!"?

"All right," Harry mumbled, "We're getting up."

Valerie felt her brother sit up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off them. She shivered slightly when cool air hit her skin and grabbed the heavy material to pull it back over her body.

"Val," Harry said next to her. "Val, I don't think it was a dream. Hagrid is still here."

Blinking, she opened her eyes.

The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

So the tapping noise had not been their Aunt Petunia trying to wake them up after all!

A wave of relief washed over Valerie as she groggily sat up on the hard, cold floor and rubbed her tired eyes. She was glad that she didn't have to bother with a pair of glasses all the time. Harry's sight was so bad, he'd often had to ask her to help him find his glasses so he wouldn't accidentally step on them.

Harry scrambled to his feet and went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

Taken aback, Valerie could only stare at the feathery animal. She had never seen an owl before – well, she had seen one very briefly the night before, but the encounter had been of such a short time, that it could hardly count as one at all.

Again, it attacked Hagrid's over-sized coat.

"Don't do that." Harry said and tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak

fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.

"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl… and it's attacking your coat. What am I supposed to do?"

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

"Oh," was all Harry said and bent down to look for some payment for the owl that now watched him with interested amber eyes.

Valerie couldn't help it; she slowly and very carefully stretched out her arm until her fingers touched its brown and white feathers.

"He's so soft," she whispered amazed.

The owl made a noise that almost sounded like a purr and half closed its eyes.

A giggle rose up in Valerie's throat.

"So, you like to be stroked, don't you?" She said fondly.

Valerie glanced at her brother who was still busy rummaging through Hagrid's coat.

It seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.

"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.

"Knuts?" Harry asked confused.

"The little bronze ones."

Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg, so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it.

The owl gave Valerie a light nudge with his head and clicked happily with his beak before he flew off through the open window.

Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, you two, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

"We're leaving?" Valerie asked, eyes wide with hope.

"Yup," said Hagrid and winked at her. "Still dreamin'?"

Valerie grinned and shook her head. This had to be the best birthday she'd ever had!

Suddenly, she wasn't feeling sleepy anymore at all; she felt happy, happier than she'd ever been in her life and it was great. It was as if something inside her had swollen up to the size of a giant balloon, ready to burst any moment.

Harry, however, was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them.

"Um - Hagrid?" He said slowly.

"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"We haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for us to go and learn magic."

It was true, Valerie realised with a jolt.

There was no way they could pay for the equipment they needed, let alone tuition fees (though she wasn't sure if there was any fees to be paid). Hogwarts didn't sound like one of the public schools their aunt and uncle'd had intended for them to go to. Surely, it had to be expensive?

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But if their house was destroyed -" Harry began.

"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank." Hagrid said and pulled out another handful of sausages. Valerie wondered where he kept it all; his coat was massive but it didn't appear to have enough space to carry _that_ many items. "Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks?" Asked Harry, who seemed to have hundreds of questions running through his mind.

He did grab a sausage, though, and absentmindedly took a bite, only grimacing slightly at the taste of it.

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

Valerie dropped the bit of sausage she was holding and stared up at Hagrid who was still sitting on the sofa.

"Goblins?" She asked. "They really exist?"

"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts." He said with a hint of a warning in his tone at the mention of goblins. "As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business."

"What kind of business, Hagrid?" Asked Valerie who now, too, felt as if her head was about to burst if she didn't ask enough questions.

"Top secret, yer know" Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see."

"Oh," Valerie said, disappointed of Hagrid's lack of response.

She loved secrets. Especially when she knew she'd have an advantage when keeping it. Of course, she would never hurt anyone with it – well, except maybe the Dursleys. But only to get a little revenge for all the years they'd had to endure with them.

"Got everythin'? Come on, then."

They followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight and Valerie and to shield her eyes from the harshness of the light.

The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. She looked at it wearily. Somehow the idea of crossing the water in it seemed not to be a very good one.

"Um – Hagrid?" She said. "Do you really think using the boat is a good idea?"

He laughed. "Don' worry, it'll get us there!"

"How did you get here?" Harry asked, obviously looking around for another boat.

Now that she thought about it, Valerie realised that there was, in fact, no other boat to be seen anywhere. How _had_ he gotten there without one?

"Flew," said Hagrid.

"Flew?" She exclaimed. "You know how to fly? Will we learn that, too, Hagrid?"

"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."

They settled down in the boat, Valerie and Harry both still staring at Hagrid, trying to

imagine him flying.

Somehow the thought of a massive man flying high up in the skies looked very amusing to Valerie.

"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving them another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," said Harry, who was as eager to see more magic as his sister.

Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and

they sped off toward land.

Would they get an umbrella, too, to do magic? Valerie wondered. Maybe all that talk about wands was to a distraction and, in reality, only the best wizards and witches received one.

A terrible thought entered her mind. What if she would not be good enough? What if she failed to get a wand because her magical abilities were too low?

"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked suddenly and Valerie remembered what Hagrid had told them a few minutes ago about goblins.

"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

"Like a secret tunnel system?" Valerie saked amazed. "Like the catacombs in France? I've read about them! They're haunted!"

The small boat shook with Hagrid's laughter. He wiped tears out of his eyes with his massive hands. "Gringotts's nothin' like that. Like I said – yeh'be mad ter try an' rob it. All sorts o' dark creatures down there. Yeh'll see what I mean."

Valerie frowned. She thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Valerie and Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this. The few times one of them had dared interrupt him while reading, they'd both ended up locked away in their cupboard for weeks.

She doubted that Hagrid would send them back to the Dursleys, but who knew what kinds of punishments they had in Hogwarts.

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Valerie asked, before she could stop herself.

The world of magic was so new to her and every time Hagrid opened his mouth, she learned something she hadn't heard off before. Of course, how should she have heard of anything related to wizards, when the Dursleys had spent their entire lives keeping them away from it?

"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So, he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

That didn't sound like a very competent Minister to her.

"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?" Asked Harry, clearly eager to learn more.

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"Why?"

Oh, Harry, Valerie thought. You can be so narrow-minded sometimes.

Of course, magic had to be kept a secret! In all the books, Valerie had read (the number was limited to what she could get her hands on, which hadn't been a lot), the magical worlds or supernatural creatures had kept their identities a secret.

She didn't want to appear as a know-it-all in front of Hagrid and so remained silent.

"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."

At this moment, the boat bumped gently into the harbour wall.

Valerie almost lost her balance but managed not to fall off her seat.

Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.

"Right," he said and bent down to lift them both out of the small boat and, finally, onto solid ground.

Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station.

Valerie couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"

For Valerie and Harry, of course, such things did not hold the same fascination. They were ordinary, something both of them had seen plenty of times in their lives.

Valerie was more interested in the magical world she was about to enter.

Right now, however, she had to keep up with Hagrid's long stride which automatically made him move a great deal faster than the two children who were following him.

"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"

"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"You'd like one?"

"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."

"But dragons are dangerous, right, Hagrid?" Valerie said.

"Yeah – which is why I'm no' allowed ter keep one."

Somehow, Hagrid sounded disappointed at the thought of not being allowed to keep a creature that was potentially dangerous for everyone around it.

They had reached the station.

There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.

Valerie giggled when Hagrid fumbled with the, compared to his statue, small paper bills.

She waited with Hagrid while her brother went to buy their tickets.

"So," he said, looked down at her small frame. "Yeh've had yer letter fer some time an' didn' tell yer brother?"

Valerie blushed and chewed on her lower lip. "Didn't want to get in trouble. Harry can get really upset sometimes and I didn't want Uncle Vernon to find out…" Then she added. "I've only had it for a couple of days and I meant to tell him, really!"

Hagrid chuckled. "Didn' mean it like that, Valerie. 't was probably the best fer both of yeh. Biggest Muggle I ever met, Dursley…"

Harry came back with their tickets and they made their way to the platform.

People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.

Valerie didn't mind. She liked the giant who stood out among the crowd like a colourful canary bird.

"Still got yer letters, you two?" he asked as he counted stitches.

Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket to sow that he still got his and Valerie nodded, pointing at her bag. She still didn't know why she had taken everything with her but she didn't know if they would even return to the Dursleys at some point. Better safe than sorry, she thought.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."

Harry unfolded a second piece of paper, the list of required equipment he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

 _UNIFORM_

 _First-year students will require:_

 _1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

 _2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

 _COURSE BOOKS_

 _All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

 _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ _by Miranda Goshawk_

 _A History of Magic_ _by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ _by Emeric Switch_

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ _by Phyllida Spore_

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_ _by Arsenius Jigger_

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ _by Newt Scamander_

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ _by Quentin Trimble_

 _OTHER EQUIPMENT_

 _1 wand_

 _1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _1 set glass or crystal phials_

 _1 telescope_

 _1 set brass scales_

 _Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

 _PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK._

"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.

"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.

They had never been to London before.

The city was huge and crowded with people who hurried past them. Fortunately, Hagrid was at least two feet taller than everyone else so they couldn't lose him unless he suddenly decided to vanish into thin air.

"Sorry," He muttered from time to time when he tried to get through groups of people. "'Scuse me."

They would then turn and stare at him, some too amazed by his appearance to realise that he wanted to get through.

Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way.

He had got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and had complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.

For Valerie and Harry, however, who had never travelled by train, it had not appeared to be slow at all.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," Hagrid said as they turned into a bustling road lined with shops.

"We – they have to," Valerie almost shouted over the traffic noise. "They're very efficient with it, too."

They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people.

"Hagrid," Valerie said after a while. They'd gone through a dozen streets and small alleys by now without even a hint of the magical world. "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Yep," was all he said as he happily marched on.

She glanced over at Harry who looked equally confused and simply shrugged at her.

"We simply have to trust him," he seemed to be telling her and she nodded.

Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?

All those questions were running through her mind. How come no one had ever noticed anything?

She felt a surge of pride at the thought of being part of an enormous secret world full of magic and other people just like them!

Valerie wondered what it would be like. All sorts of images ran through her head and she bumped straight into Hagrid who had suddenly come to a halt.

"This is it," said Hagrid, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Valerie – apart from being lost in her own thoughts - wouldn't have noticed it was there.

The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all.

In fact, Valerie had the most peculiar feeling that this was the truth. How else could their eyes linger on every other shop in the street but no once did they stop to even look at the Leaky Cauldron?

She didn't have much time to ponder over it, as Hagrid lay a hand on their shoulders and gently steered them inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby and not at all what Valerie would have imagined.

A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of what looked like sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. They spoke in low voices and nodded occasionally but Valerie couldn't pick up their conversation, they were simply too far away.

They made their way over to the bar where a little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.

The low buzz of chatter stopped when the people in the Leaky Cauldron recognised them.

Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on their shoulders and making Valerie's knees buckle and she quickly held on to an empty chair as to stay on her feet. She really had forgotten how strong Hagrid was.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an

honor."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

Valerie stared at the man in shock. Sure, Hagrid had mentioned that he was famous in the wizarding world, but she hadn't expected a reaction like this. And, apparently, and she couldn't blame him in the slightest, neither had Harry who looked like he'd lost his words. Everyone was looking at him.

Not at her, it was as if they didn't even see her at all. Valerie was glad for it, she hated to be the centre of attention.

Poor Harry, she thought as the old woman with the pipe, who was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out, suddenly made her way over to them and shook Harry's hand enthusiastically.

"An honour, Mr. Potter, to finally meet you," she said, her grey eyes watery with tears. "You don't know what this means to me."

Hagrid was beaming.

Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."

Then, a man who looked eerily familiar to Valerie, squeezed his way through to them, and excitedly said: "Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."

That was it! She remembered it now. The day Aunt Petunia had shuffled Harry, Valerie and Dudley out of a shop without even buying anything after they had been approached by a man in very strange clothing.

"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again -

Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.

A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

Valerie immediately disliked him.

She couldn't tell what it was about this man that made him dislikeable, but he made her hairs stand on end.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."

He flashed her a quick smile as well. Valerie didn't return it, she simply stared at him with cold interest.

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked who did not seem to notice anything out of the ordinary about Quirrell.

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously.

Valerie sighed inwardly. It was already clear which subject she would enjoy the least in Hogwarts – unless all teachers were as unpleasant as Professor Quirrell, that was.

"You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.

Valerie wondered how he could be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts if he was even afraid of the mere thought of it.

Of course, she had absolutely no idea _what_ the Dark Arts were or what defending oneself against them would include. Vampire, maybe? At least, the professor had mentioned getting a book about them.

But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all.

This is what all the celebrities must feel like when they are surrounded by paparazzies, Valerie thought.

She didn't envy Harry for all the attention. He seemed very uncomfortable with all of it and looked downright relieved when, at last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.

"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, you two."

Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

It was obviously a dead end. Were they just waiting for all the people in the pub to go home?

Valerie could not find any other reason as to why Hagrid had led them there.

Hagrid grinned at Harry. "Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"Is he always that nervous?" Asked Valerie who only barely managed to hide her feelings for the professor.

She didn't want to give Hagrid the impression she didn't like the man. He obviously didn't seem to mind him, so why should she?

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"

"Why is he still allowed to teach if he is scared of his own subject, Hagrid?" But Hagrid, wasn't paying attention, he was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.

"Three up... two across," he muttered. "Right, stand back, you two."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella and, to Valerie's utter surprise, the brick he had touched quivered. It wriggled and in the middle, a small hole appeared which it grew wider and wider until, a second later, they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, that led onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

Valerie's mouth fell open and she gasped at the sight that presented itself to her.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

* * *

How'd you like it? ;) I though about including the rest of their visit to Diagon Alley as well but the chapter was already so long so I split it up. The next chapter will be very interesting and I'm looking forward to you responses! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I decided to split the next chapter again since buying their first wands is a very important point in their lives. The wand chooses the wizard, remember? ;)**

 **I very much like this chapter, too, though as it is their first trip to Diagon Alley! I absolutely HATE young Malfoy! He's a nasty little slime ball in the beginning and I'm not going to change that.**

 **I loved to to explore Diagon Alley with Valerie and Harry and it's a bit different from how we know it in the books. What J.K. Rowling put in one chapter, I split up into three.**

 **I really hope you guys will enjoy this chapter here! Please, let me know what you all think!**

* * *

Valerie had never seen anything like Diagon Alley.

The cobblestoned alley was full of wizards and witches and the air was filled with cheerful chattering and the most wonderful smells that she couldn't find the right words to describe. Valerie saw a family of five standing in front of one of the many shops. One of the children, a little boy with strawberry blond hair and freckles excitedly pointed at whatever was on the other side of the shop window. He looked up to his mother, a middle-aged witch with the same light hair that had a touch of red under the sunlight, who shook her head and said something Valerie couldn't hear over the buzzing noise of the people around them.

"Amazing!" She whispered. "How come nobody has ever discovered this place?"

Hagrid grinned from ear to ear at their amazed faces.

"Powerful spells 'n charms," he said. "Wouldn' want them Muggles ter find us here."

They stepped through the archway.

Valerie looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.

Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."

Valerie couldn't stop staring at the shops as they made their way through Diagon Alley. She wanted to see everything! She wanted to explore every corner of every shop, restaurant or café they passed. She wanted to watch the witches and wizards who hurried in and out of the stores with packages of all forms and sizes in their hands, some even carried pets with them like owls or cats or toads.

A young boy, he couldn't be much older them Valerie herself, with dark skin and black hair even had a giant spider sitting on his shoulder and she quickly scurried away from him as they passed him.

"…think they're going to allow me taking him to Hogwarts?" Valerie heard him say to another boy when they went by.

A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."

Valerie longed to see what a dragon liver looked like, but Hagrid hurried them along.

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.

Maybe they could come back and buy one after they had enough money in their pockets.

After her experience with the owl that had delivered Hagrid's newspaper, she had become rather fond of these animals.

Several boys of about Valerie's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. It was the one the little strawberry blond boy had pointed at earlier.

"Look," Valerie heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -"

She caught a glimpse at a shiny looking broomstick with the golden letters _Nimbus 2000_ carved into its wood.

"Hagrid, can we get a Nimbus 2000?" She asked, but immediately remembered that the letter had explicitly stated that broomsticks were not allowed for first years at Hogwarts.

"No, sorry, Valerie," He said over his shoulder. "No broomsticks allowed fer first years. Yeh all have flying lessons, though. Yeh'll be getting' one from school."

"Oh, okay." The disappointment was obvious in her voice and Hagrid smiled sympathetically at her and patted her shoulder, making her knees buckle under the strength.

Harry also longingly glanced back at the shop window and, reluctantly, followed Hagrid who did not once stop to give them time to look around.

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments they had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes (Valerie grimaced at the thought of having to touch them with bare hands), tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

"Gringotts," said Hagrid.

They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Despite its massive appearance, Valerie was not sure how any wizard or witch could enter without fearing that the building could collapse any minute, given how askew it was.

"Ah, Hagrid," Harry said unsure. "How stable is this building?"

He looked at the white columns that supported the weight but all pointed in different directions.

Hagrid chuckled. "There ain' no safer place than Gringotts. Except, perhaps, Hogwarts. Don' worry, Harry."

Harry nodded and despite Hagrid's assurance that it was indeed quite safe to enter, Valerie did so only reluctantly. Before they did, however, she spotted something – no _someone_ -standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold.

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him.

The goblin was about a head shorter than Valerie, who, in turn, was a bit shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet.

His sharp eyes followed them and he bowed as they walked inside.

Valerie, who couldn't help looking back over her shoulder at the goblin, who now had his head turned the other way again, shivered slightly. It would probably be better to stay out of trouble while in Gringotts, surrounded by goblins, she decided. She also wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, withdraw their money and then leave.

She focused on the path ahead of them.

Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

After having encountered goblins now, Valerie understood why anyone would be mad to break into Gringotts. She wouldn't want to be on the bad side of any of those creatures.

"Has anyone ever tried to break into Gringotts?" Harry, who was clearly braver in this situation than Valerie herself, asked.

"Sure," Hagrid answered. He also seemed to have great respect of the little creatures as the confidence in his stride seemed to have vanished. "Didn' end well fer whoever it was. Ended up in Azkaban. Terrible place, Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Harry continued.

"A wizarding prison somewhere 'n the North Sea," Hagrid said in a low voice. "Never been there. Dark place. Full o' dark wizards and Dementors."

"Dementors?" Harry's mind was obviously full of questions and the more Hagrid said, the more her brother seemed to have.

Hagrid shook his head, however, as a pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall.

About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.

Valerie eyed them wearily. She stayed as close to Hagrid as physically possible while still trying to get a glimpse at everything she could manage to see.

There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Valerie was glad that more wizards and witches also were present in these halls. It gave her a feeling of security among all the goblins.

They made for the counter, Hagrid in the lead.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry and Ms. Valerie Potter's safe."

"You have their key, Sir?" The goblin leaned forward over the counter, his long fingers gripping the edge of it, and looked down at them with his black eyes.

Instinctively, Valerie took a step back.

The goblin gave them a mischievous grin, showing a row of pointed teeth before sinking back into his chair.

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of mouldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose.

Valerie watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Wow!" She breathed and Harry, who'd been watching Hagrid, also turned to look, eyes wide at the giant gem stones.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

How the goblin could tell that by simply observing the key, Valerie didn't know, but she was too scared to ask Hagrid about it.

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

Valerie wondered if it was about the secret mission Dumbledore had sent him on. The one he wasn't allowed to talk about. Maybe they would finally find out what it was that was so important. And what was the You-Know-What Hagrid was talking about?

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. And, if possible, he looked even nastier than his fellow employees.

He nodded at them stiffly.

Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, they followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry

asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Valerie saw her brother's shoulders slump slightly. He was as curious as Valerie herself and she couldn't blame him for asking, as slim as the chances for an answer were.

They had reached the door and Griphook held open for them.

Valerie paused for a moment when she saw what lay behind it; they were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches.

The marble walls and floor she'd expected were missing. The contrast to the great hall they had just exited was clearly visible.

This had to be the secret passages and tunnels Hagrid had been talking about on their way to the Leaky Cauldron, Valerie thought as Griphook took one of the torches and lead the way deeper into the passageway.

It sloped steeply downward and Valerie and Harry had to be careful not to slip on the slightly wet and slippery path. There were little railway tracks on the floor that lead into the seemingly endless tunnel.

Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. Valerie frowned when she saw that it was driverless.

They climbed in.

Harry and Valerie, who were first, took the two seats in the backrow of the cart and Hagrid, who had some difficulties climbing in due to his massive size, sat down in front of them, effectively blocking their view.

Griphook took the front seat, a whistling sound echoed off the walls and were off.

At first, they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages.

Valerie, who tried to get a glimpse at what lay in each side of them, turned her head in every direction but the cart was too fast for her to see anything.

It was like riding a roller coaster – at least, how Valerie imagined a ride on one. The Dursleys had never taken her and Harry along on one of their dozen visits to amusement parks.

She tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. They changed direction so fast and often that she just couldn't keep track of which way they were going.

The rattling cart went on, however, Griphook wasn't steering. But who was? A cart could hardly steer itself and there had to be someone showing them the way! Unless, it had developed a mind of its own, and the thought of that was a little bit concerning to say the least. What if they got lost? Not that she would be able to tell where they currently were but the knowledge that, perhaps, no one would ever be able to locate them again was not a very assuring one.

Valerie's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, though Hagrid's massive figure in front of them protected them from most of the wind.

Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

Valerie wanted to stop and enjoy the view but she could hardly ask a goblin for a break!

The size of the lake again made her wonder just how wide-spread the underground system of Gringotts was. The air was much colder down here, were no sunlight would ever reach down and she shuddered at the thought of having to work in such a place. Surely, nobody would voluntarily apply for a job in Gringotts. Unless they were a vampire, she thought as she remembered Quirrell.

"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid without turning around. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Poor Hagrid, Valerie thought. She'd heard about people getting sick while on a roller coaster and he seemed to be one of the unfortunate ones.

He did look very green, indeed, she noticed, when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, and they got out.

Hagrid even had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling and she flashed him a sympathetic smile.

Griphook, who had jumped off the cart first, unlocked the door with the small golden key Hagrid had handed over to the goblin at the counter.

A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and Valerie took a step back. Who knew what kind of toxic substances it contained.

As it cleared, she heard Harry gasp. Curiously, she leaned forward to peek over her brother's shoulder – and froze.

Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts (she remembered Hagrid telling Harry to pay his owl in Knuts).

"All yours," smiled Hagrid.

All theirs?

"Woah," Harry breathed.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were stuck in her throat.

There was no way the Dursleys could have known about this or they'd have had it from them faster than blinking. Not after their numerous complaints about how much money they had to spend on their behalf anyway. Valerie had been tempted more than once to retort that Dudley was the one who they spend all their money on, but had, wisely, kept her mouth shut all those years.

And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to them, buried deep under London. And no one had known about it! Well, no one except the goblins and Hagrid and whoever he worked for.

Hagrid helped each of them pile some of it into a bag.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained while Harry held out his bag. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh."

Valerie paid close attention to his words but was sure she'd have to ask him again when they went to buy something.

He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook.

Hagrid's face, that already was as white as a ghost's, got – if possible – even paler.

They climbed back in the cart, each resuming their previous position. Griphook whistled and, once again, they were off.

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. Their surroundings flew past them in a blur and Valerie, who was busy supressing the urge to scream in delight at the fluttering sensation in her stomach, gave up on trying to look around – it was pointless at the speed they had now reached.

The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners and Valerie pulled the thin grey jacked tighter around her shivering body. She was still wearing Aunt Petunia's old grey skirt and white blouse, which looked ridiculous on her small frame. Fortunately, her jacket covered the fact that the skirt was actually long enough to reach her chest.

They went rattling over an underground ravine, and, to Valerie's horror, Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom. She wanted to shout at him that it was too dangerous but Hagrid, who groaned, pulled him back by the scruff of his neck before the words could leave her mouth.

"Vault seven hundred and thirteen." Announced Griphook as they came to a slithering halt.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

Before Valerie could ask how they could enter the vault, the goblin stepped forward.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly.

He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. Valerie stared.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook as if guessing the question that had formed in her head.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin and Valerie looked at him with horror.

"Once every ten years!" She said. "But anyone trapped in there would be long dead by the time you get there!"

"Exactly," the goblin replied, his nasty grin deepening.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, or they wouldn't go to such lengths to protect it – whatever _it_ was.

Expecting to see fabulous jewels or antique and very valuable objects or an immense amount of gold, Valerie and Harry eagerly leaned forward. Each of them trying to get a good glimpse of what it was that needed such severe protection.

The vault was empty.

At least, that's what Valerie thought when she saw nothing but blackness and dust in the room before them. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.

That's it? She thought surprised. The You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen Hagrid had made such a fuzz about was an old dirty package? No jewels or gold?

Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat, making sure it wouldn't accidentally fall out at some point on their way back to the surface.

Valerie longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

The ride back to the surface was as wild and bumpy as their previous one and Hagrid took a little bit longer to recover from it this time.

Griphook, however, seemed oblivious to Hagrid's discomfort and lead the trio straight back to the great hall where the giant gamekeeper of Hogwarts leaned heavily against one of the counters.

After a few minutes of rest, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts.

Valerie and Harry didn't know where to run first now that they had a bag full of money. Never in their lives had they been this rich but it felt good to be able to buy whatever they wanted for a change. Of course, the Dursleys had only bought them something if they couldn't avoid it – which occurred no more than twice a year, three times if they were lucky.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, who had obviously seen their uncertain glances, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, yeh two, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts."

He did still look a bit sick, Valerie realised and so she and Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone.

Valerie was glad that she didn't have to go all by herself, at least she had her brother. She was eager to buy all the necessary equipment required for Hogwarts but without Hagrid, who seemed to know everything about the wizarding world, she felt somehow lost and oddly out of place.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dearies?" she said, when she saw them at the entrance.

They nodded and her smile grew a bit wider. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "

They followed her to the back of the shop where a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.

Madam Malkin decided to serve Harry first and stood him on a stool next to the boy, who looked up when he noticed them. She slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hello," said the boy, nodding shortly. "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Harry and Valerie nodded silently as a reply.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy in a bored, drawling voice that Valerie disliked immediately. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Valerie was strongly reminded of Dudley. She shared a look with Harry who wasn't entirely comfortable with their conversation either.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on, not having noticed the small gesture.

"No," said Harry simply.

Valerie left the talking to her brother. The boy obviously knew a lot about the wizarding world and she was afraid of embarrassing herself by saying something stupid.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Harry said again.

Valerie wondered what on earth Quidditch could be. Maybe it was related to brooms? Why else would the boy be asking about it after mentioning them?

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Harry.

He looked at Valerie again who simply shrugged. She had absolutely no idea what the boy was talking about. House? At least she now knew that Quidditch had to be some sort of game or sport which was a start.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Harry while Madam Malkin pinned up his new black robes.

The boy turned his head slightly. "Your sister?" He asked.

"Yes," said Harry again.

The boy cocked an eyebrow. "Can't talk for yourself, I see, what a shame letting your brother decide what's best for you."

Valerie narrowed her eyes angrily. "I am capable of speaking for myself, thank you very much."

"Oh, really?" The boy drawled and Valerie curled her hands into fists. "Well, at least we now know that it can talk."

She was about to retort when Madam Malkin told Harry to step off the stool and waved her over.

"Hold out your arms, dearie," she said, holding a black robe in her hands. "Yes, that's it, dearie. Now, please, hold still while I pin it to the right length."

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window.

Valerie followed his gaze and saw Hagrid who was standing there, grinning at them and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

Valerie grinned back and nodded. She loved ice cream!

"That's Hagrid," said Harry with a pleased smile. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

Valerie bit her tongue. How dared he call Hagrid a servant! She kept quiet, however, as she didn't want to start a fight in Madam Malkin's shop and leave behind a negative impression.

"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry through clenched teeth.

Valerie was liking the boy less and less every second and, from the looks of it, so was her brother.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

Valerie could feel her blood boiling and had to take a deep breath in order to stay calm. So far, she hadn't had any friends and now that she did – for she did consider Hagrid her friend – she found that she didn't like it when someone insulted them.

"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.

Valerie could she the anger in his eyes, that were so much like her own.

"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," hissed Valerie who had about enough of the boy's attitude.

"Hush!" Said Madam Malkin who was currently busy fixing Valerie's collar. "Don't move!"

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Valerie replied coolly, holding still this time.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

But before any of them could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Valerie, not sorry for an excuse to escape the boy, hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy but neither of them replied.

They exited the shop and Valerie's temper cooled down immediately when the door closed behind them with a soft "thud".

"Boy, I had a hard time trying not to punch him in the face!" Valerie murmured and Harry nodded.

"He was a bit arrogant," he said. "Come, let's go to Hagrid. He's waiting over there."

They were rather quiet as they ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought them. Harry had a large portion chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts which looked delicious, while Valerie herself was enjoying vanilla and cinnamon. It was by far the best ice cream she'd ever had in her life!

"What's up?" said Hagrid who glanced between the two. "Yeh're awfully quiet."

"Nothing," Harry lied but Hagrid raised a bushy eyebrow. He didn't buy the lie at all but also decided that it would be pointless to inquire any further.

Valerie was glad for it, she didn't want to talk about the boy just yet.

They finished their ice cream and later stopped at a medium sized store to buy parchment and quills.

Valerie loved the smell of parchment in the air. Curiously, she walked through the shelves and let her fingers wander over the many items, enjoying the soft feeling of the feathers and paper on her skin. Only a handful of people were in the store while they were there and she saw a young boy with fiery red hair that stood out in all directions, making him look a little bit like a sea-urchin, hazel eyes and a small turned-up nose, near the counter. He was holding an ink-well and several rolls of parchment while a woman, his mother apparently, handed the shopkeeper some galleons.

Valerie smiled at him when their eyes met and the boy blushed, lowering his gaze immediately.

When they had left the shop, Harry finally broke the silence and said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

Right. Valerie remembered their conversation with the pale blond boy at Madam Malkins.

"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!" Hagrid said and scratched his beard.

"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry pleadingly and told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. "He seemed to know all about it, Hagrid! He also said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."

"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

Valerie snorted.

"So what is Quidditch?" She asked as casually as possible.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."

She nodded. "The boy also asked us if we have our own brooms and he mentioned etting on the house team."

"He won' be gettn' anywhere as a first year," Hagrid said. "Yer not allowed on the teams yet. 'N only the best are selected fer the house teams. Doesn't matter where yer from, if yeh can't fly, you don' get in."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Harry asked suddenly.

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily and Valerie nodded.

They had no experience with magic whatsoever. There was no chance they'd get into the better houses.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Doesn't matter which house I'm in, as long as _he_ is somewhere else!" Mumbled Valerie and Harry nodded in agreement.

Then he said: "Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid shortly and walked on. "What else is on yer list?"

Harry pulled out his letter and scanned it. "We still need our school books, a cauldron, scales, a brass telescope, basic potion ingredients and… a wand!" He said excitedly.

A wand. Valerie's heart beat faster when she thought of getting her own wand. It was the thing she was looking forward to the most.

"We better get going then," said Hagrid and pointed at a store called Flourish and Blotts. "Yeh'll find all yer school books in Flourish 'n Blotts. Just show them yer list 'n they'll get it fer yeh."

They entered the very over-crowded store and Valerie looked around in awe.

The shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. It was magnificent!

A tall and very thin man with greying hair at the temples approached them. "Ah, hello Hagrid!" He greeted them. "Good to see you again! What brings you here?"

"Here to purchase some books fer young Valerie and Harry, Robert," Hagrid beamed.

"Blimey," the man called Robert whispered, his watery blue eyes widening. "You're Harry Potter! What an honour, Mr. Potter, to finally have you here in Flourish and Blotts! First year, right? Of course, you'll be getting your books for free, Mr. Potter!"

Harry shook the man's outstretched hand, still slightly taken aback by his reaction.

"Thank you," he breathed and the man, beaming at Harry, hurried off into the depths of the store.

A few moments later, he came back, two piles of books floating behind him.

"There you go, Mr. Potter," he said enthusiastically as the books flew into their outstretched arms. "I hope you'll find everything to your satisfaction."

"Y-yes," Harry stammered. "Thank you, sir."

"Right," said Hagrid. "Thank yeh, Robert. But we gotta carry on. Still got a lot ter to today."

"Oh, of course, Hagrid!" The man said and bowed. "Mr. Potter, what an honour to have had you here. Ms. Potter." He nodded at Valerie and Harry and they left the shop.

Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron when they were looking for one half an hour later.

"It says pewter on yer list," he said.

Grudgingly, Harry bought the cauldron and Valerie giggled at her brother's reaction. It was funny that, often, he was very polite and holding back, but, sometimes, when his temper got the better of him, he could act like a five-year old child who didn't get what he wanted.

However, they did get a very nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope for they Astronomy class, as Hagrid explained.

Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages.

Valerie and Harry interestedly looked at all the barrels of slimy stuff and jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders and bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws that hung from the ceiling, while Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for their first year.

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked their list again.

"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."

"You don't have to -" Harry began, turning red.

Nobody had ever offered to buy them a birthday present!

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

"Wow, thank you, Hagrid," Valerie said and smiled up at him.

They entered Eeylops Owl Emporium, a dark place for of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes that seemed to follow them around.

Valerie, who had not seen or heard the owner of the shop approach them, leapt into the air with a shrill scream when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a pair of golden-glowing eyes.

"Welcome," the man said in a low, smoky voice. "How may I help you, gentleman – and lady."

He bowed deeply and even Hagrid seemed a bit set off by his presence.

"We're, er, lookin' fer an owl fer these two here," he said uneasily.

"Ah," the shopkeeper said with a smile. "First years, I see. Coming to buy a pet. Tell me, do you have any preferences?"

"N-no, sir," Harry stammered.

"Then, may I suggest, that you take a look around," the man said and gestured at the many owls that were staring at them from their cages. "I will be happy to assist."

Valerie slowly set off to the back side of the shop, carefully keeping an eye on the scary shopkeeper who was following Harry.

She looked interestedly at the owls as she passed their cages, their heads turning in her direction. Coming to a particularly large cage, she stopped.

Its inhabitant was an average-sized owl with a white and black plumage and ear tufts. Large orange eyes watched her intensely and Valerie smiled at the bird.

"Hello there," she said quietly.

The owl stared at her, then cocked her head as if trying to find out whether Valerie was actually worth its time.

"Ah," came the smoky voice of the shopkeeper behind her. "Very interesting. A European Eagle Owl. Female, not yet fully grown. A large owl, they can grow up to a final length of 75 centimetres. Not the fastest flyers but extremely loyal to their owner."

As if on cue, the owl made a quiet _oohu-oohu_ and rustled her wings.

Twenty minutes later, they left the shops with two large cages.

Harry's held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing, while Valerie had chosen the young European Eagle owl who looked around excitedly as they stepped out onto the cobblestoned alley.

"Thank you, Hagrid!" Harry and Valerie said in unison.

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

A magic wand... this was what Valerie had been really looking forward to. Her heart beat excitedly behind her ribcage as they neared the last shop, the golden letters over the door reading Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

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 **Next stop: Ollivanders! I'm so excited about this one and am curious to know what you'll think of it, so stay tuned for more! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys,**

 **first of all, I have to apologize for taking so long to update the story. I had A LOT going on at university - papers, exams, etc - and then fell sick. I'm still not 100% fit and feel tired but I am just so curious to see what you think of this chapter that I didn't want to wait any longer. ;)**

 **Things are starting to get interesting! :)**

 **rosenthalblau: This is the point where Valerie's existence is starting make a (small) difference to the story. I'd be interested in your opinion again as the story develops. ;)**

 **Anyway, please enjoy chapter six of Emerald Fire and don't forget to leave behind a review!**

* * *

This is it, Valerie thought. I'm finally getting my own wand.

She took a deep breath as they neared Ollivanders. Harry's hand slipped in hers and she could feel that he was as nervous as she was.

A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window and even though Valerie was sure that plenty of people must be visiting the shop every year, the place looked strangely abandoned.

Thousands of narrow boxes were piled up neatly right up to the ceiling, all covered with a tiny layer of dust. It was dark inside, similar to Eeylops Owl Emporium but filled with an almost eerie silence and a strange energy in the air that sent a fine, tingling sensation down Valerie's spine.

A single, spindly chair stood in the corner nearest to the door and Valerie almost winced then Hagrid sat on it to wait.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice suddenly from the depths of the shop and an old man with wide, pale eyes emerged from the darkness.

Next to her, Harry jumped, nearly bumping into her. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair before it could break.

"Hello," they said a bit awkwardly.

The man reminded Valerie strangely of a ghost; his pale skin and eyes glowing strangely in the dim light shining through the shop windows.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon."

He approached them like a cat circling its prey, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Harry Potter." The man, who could be none other than the shop owner, Mr. Ollivander, rested his eyes on Harry and came to a halt directly in front of him. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Valerie saw Harry's green eyes move up to meet Mr. Ollivander's grey ones. She had the same bright green eyes, of course, but, apparently, it was her brother people were most interested in. During their stay in Diagon Alley, she had only been acknowledged once, twice at the most. The rest of the time, the wizards and witches they had encountered had almost exclusively spoken to Harry. He'd been overwhelmed and a little bit uncomfortable with all the sudden attention he was getting, but had politely shaken hands and returned smiles without complaint.

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course. How, is not always clear…"

The wand chooses the wizard?

Valerie looked at the many neatly piled up boxes around them. In one of them lay her own wand, waiting to be taken out and held in her hand. She could feel the magic radiating off them and if she concentrated hard enough, she imagined she could actually _hear_ them whispering.

"And that's where..." Mr. Ollivander, who had moved even closer to Harry, touched the lightning scar on her brother's forehead with a long, white finger. "Ah, yes… I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it."

Mr. Ollivander paused for a moment, as if he remembered something that had happened a very long time ago.

"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

He shook his head and his silvery eyes looked down on Harry with great sadness.

Then, looking up again, his gaze fell on Hagrid, who seemed awfully large in the small shop.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid with a nod, his face turning a deep shade of red.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

Expelled? Hagrid had been expelled as a young wizard? But how was he still able to perform magic?

"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly but Valerie noticed the tight grip on his umbrella as he did so.

She fought back a grin. Obviously, Hagrid was not entirely telling the truth but she wasn't going to betray him.

"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. Somehow Valerie had the feeling that the old man was quite aware of Hagrid's lie.

"Ah," Mr. Ollivander said, changing the topic and focus of his attention. "And there is young Ms. Potter, of course."

He stepped closer to her now.

"I see," he said with a bright smile and a knowing nod. "Quite the talent at making yourself seemingly… disappear, aren't you?"

"I don't understand…" Valerie said. "I'm not… I mean, I'm…"

Mr. Ollivander chuckled softly.

"Oh, not entirely invisibly, no," he replied in an equally soft voice. "But enough for others to, well, not notice you. An amazingly useful talent might I add, Ms. Potter, very useful indeed."

His silvery eyes strayed, once more, from her to Harry.

"Would you mind if I begin with your brother, my dear?" Mr. Ollivander asked and smiled brightly when she shook her head.

"No, sir," Valerie said. "Not at all."

"Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket and held it out. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry and Valerie wondered what he needed a tape measure for. They weren't going to buy any clothes in here, were they?

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.

Valerie frowned while watching Mr. Ollivander work. She was not familiar with wands and even though it was not her own wand they were currently looking for, she was equally excited for her brother. They would both be attending a wizard school in September! And they'd have plenty of time to talk about and compare their wands, imagine what being in Hogwarts would be like.

As the tape measured – which, Valerie now realised, it did so own its own - Mr. Ollivander said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

As soon as the tape had finished measuring Harry, Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

He put them on the counter, opened the first and handed Harry a polished light brown wand.

"Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beech wood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and gave Valerie a quick glance, who shrugged in return, before he waved it around a bit.

The blue vase on the counter burst into a thousand tiny pieces and Mr. Ollivander immediately snatched wand out of his hand.

"No, no," he murmured as he put it back into its box. "Definitely not."

Mr. Ollivander opened yet another box and handed Harry the wand it contained.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy."

Harry took it and raised his hand, but he had hardly moved the wand at all when a second vase, a white one with beautiful carvings, started to shake dangerously. The wand was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander immediately.

"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harry tried it but the result was the same and Mr. Ollivander had taken the wand away from him before any more damage could be done.

Valerie watched the scene with interest. Apparently, wands were very picky when it came to their new owner. She was almost reminded of how the three of them had picked out their owls earlier today.

Neither she nor Harry had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The best result had been a wand made out of holly with a dragon heartstring core that had simply not reacted at all.

The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the counter, but Valerie had the strange feeling that the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

He reminded her strangely of Mrs. Willoughby, a small quirky old woman who worked in a muggle shoe shop. Of course, the two had nothing in common concerning their appearance as the woman was not nearly as frightening as Mr. Ollivander, but the way they both became happier with every shoe, or in this case, wand, the customer tried, was almost scary.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand and Valerie watched as his eyes widened in surprise.

He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. He looked up at Hagrid, who was clapping loudly, with a wide smile.

Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "

Carefully, he put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious.."

Valerie didn't understand what the wandmaker found curious about selling one of his wands to a customer but before she could ask, Harry opened his mouth.

"Sorry," he said, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare and handed him the box.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."

Valerie frowned. Hadn't he mentioned that no wand shared the same core? That every wand was different? Well, she supposed that there really was an exception to every rule. It did indeed seem strange, though, that this particular wand had chosen Harry.

Or, maybe not, whispered a voice in her head. Maybe that is exactly the reason _why_ the wand had chosen her brother in the first place.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

Valerie saw how uneasy her brother was. It seemed that everyone expected great things from him before he had even set foot in Hogwarts.

She just hoped that people wouldn't expect the same from her just because they were related. It wasn't like she had defeated the darkest wizard of all times or done anything else of an extraordinary nature. She was Valerie, just Valerie. There was nothing great or exceptional about her.

"Now," Mr. Ollivander said happily. "To you Ms. Potter. I wonder if you're going to be as tricky as young Harry here."

However, he didn't sound concerned at all by the thought of Valerie being a difficult customer. On the contrary! Mr. Ollivander, who had put back the other boxes earlier, happily went off to fetch new ones.

He came back with a dozen boxes in his arms, put the all on the counter and pulled out the tape he had used to measure Harry with.

"Now. Which one is your wand arm, Ms. Potter?" Mr. Ollivander asked and Valerie stretched out her right arm. "Ah, same as your brothers then."

Something about the fact that she and Harry were both right handed seemed to make him happy.

"Very good, very good," she heard him murmur when the tape was finished measuring her arm and head and dropped back to the floor. "Here, try this one first. Holly and unicorn hair, eleven inches, supple."

Valerie couldn't help but notice the similarity between the wand Mr. Ollivander was now holding out to her and Harry's. The only difference seemed to be the core.

She took the wand and waved it, sending the white vase flying through the shop and hastily handed it back to Mr. Ollivander.

"Hmm… No, no," he said, shaking his head. "Maybe this one, ebony and dragon heartstring, nine and a half inches, springy… Try it…"

Valerie tried it but Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand out of her hands as soon as she'd touched it.

"No, definitely not! Here, hazel and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, reasonably supple…"

Valerie tried the wand but it immediately set the spindly chair on fire. Mr. Ollivander took back the wand and extinguished the fire with a flick of his own wand.

"Tricky, tricky…" He murmured, scratching his chin. "Maybe this one? Sycamore and dragon heartstring, then inches, nice and flexible."

Valerie tried wand after wand, after wand. When they still hadn't found a matching one over an hour later, she began to worry that her original fear, that no wand would ever want to choose her, had become true. She looked over at Hagrid who first looked worried but, spotting her watching him, gave her an encouraging smile.

She appreciated the gesture, but knowing that even Hagrid had doubts, didn't exactly boost her confidence.

"No worries, dear," said Mr. Ollivander who had caught up on her worries. "You are merely a difficult customer. There has been no witch or wizard who walked out of Ollivanders without a wand!"

Suddenly, he paused.

His eyes travelled to Harry and the brown box he was clutching in his hand, then back to Valerie and to the back of the shop.

"I wonder…" He said slowly, his pale fingers moving to hold up her chin so their eyes met. "I highly curious thing indeed… Could it be possible? After everything your brother has been through, the many great things he is destined to do…"

Mr. Ollivander let go of Valerie's chin and neatly put the boxes back to where he'd taken them from. He gave her one last glance before he retreated into the darkness.

Valerie stood in front of the counter, feeling lost. When Harry had taken over thirsty minutes to find his wand, she hadn't been worried to find that she'd be difficult, too. Now, however, almost one and a half hour later, she didn't know what to think. None of the wands she'd tried so far had even remotely given the impression of being a match. All tries had resulted in doing damage to whatever objects were in the way.

Mr. Ollivander's pale figure emerged from the darkness, a long, black box resting in his hands. Unlike the others, it was not covered with dust.

He fixed Valerie intensely with his silvery eyes.

"Only three customers have ever held this wand in their hands, Ms. Potter," he said in a low voice, his tone had become very serious. "All of them were exceptionally talented, powerful wizards and have gone on to do great things in this world. None of them, however, were chosen by it."

Mr. Ollivander slowly opened the box, revealing a beautifully crafted wand resting on red velvet.

It was completely black, except for a thin, silver snake that was wound around the lower half of the wood, the end of its body forming the grip. Emerald stones served as the snake's eyes and glowed in the dim light in the store. It was beautiful.

Valerie swallowed, sensing the magic that radiated off the wand.

"It is the only of its kind in my shop. A very powerful wand," Mr. Ollivander said, following her gaze that swept over the wand. "Elder and phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches, reasonably supple."

Carefully, Valerie took the wand out of the box. A warm feeling spread through her entire body, the emerald eyes of the snake started to glow and a chain of silvery sparks burst from the tip.

"Oh," Mr. Ollivander breathed. "Extraordinary, truly extraordinary… We can, Ms. Potter, with a final certainty say, that you are a truly gifted young witch. Elder wands, rare as they are, only choose the most talented and superior witches and wizards."

Valerie could only stare at Mr. Ollivander who had taken the wand and wrapped the box up in brown paper.

"I have to warn you though," he said, handing it to her. "Elder wands are the ones most desired by other witches and wizards for they are the most powerful ones. I advise you to take great care of yours, as elder wands are known to change their allegiance should they find a new master."

"Find a new master?" Valerie asked. "Didn't you say that – "

"Oh, almost very wand can be won in a duel, Ms. Potter," Mr. Ollivander explained. "Only the most loyal ones remain dedicated to their original owner no matter the circumstances. An elder wand, however, will turn quickly on its owner, should another win it in a duel."

Valerie looked at him horrified.

"Rest assured, though," the wandmaker continued with a small smile. "That only very powerful wizards or witches actually manage to obtain another's wand in a duel. It is not easy to defeat someone with an elder wand, Ms. Potter. Your wand will defend you fiercely when challenged."

Valerie wasn't sure she liked Mr. Ollivander too much. The man frightened her with his creepy eyes and talks about wands.

In the end, they paid seven gold Galleons for Harry's wand and twenty Galleons for Valerie's, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

"Good luck to you both," Valerie heard the wandmaker say before the door to the shop closed behind them.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see the old man watching them with a frown on his face, his silvery eyes resting uncomfortably long on Valerie before he vanished back into the shop.

It was a beautiful day, the sun hanging low in the afternoon shy as the trio made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron which was now empty. Neither Valerie nor Harry were particularly looking forward to encountering even more witches and wizards that couldn't get enough of seeing the famous Potters, especially the Boy Who Lived, and were relieved to see that the little Pub was abandoned – except for Tom, the barkeeper, that was.

"Do yeh wan' ter eat somethin' before we head back?" Hagrid asked them when they entered the Leaky Cauldron, arms loaded with packages of all form and sizes and the two cages holding their owls.

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said. "But I'm not hungry."

"Neither am I," Valerie also replied who just wanted to go to a quiet place where nobody would stare at them as if they were a piece of art at an exhibition. It was unnerving.

"Alright then." Hagrid nodded at Tom, who was busy cleaning the counter, and shuffled them out of the Pub.

The city outside Diagon Alley was as busy as ever. This time, however, manoeuvring their way through the crowded streets proved more difficult with all the packages they were carrying.

People would stop in their tracks to stare at the three as they passed, shaking their heads and muttering something about "strange tastes" and "gone crazy".

Valerie had bite her tongue in order to not give an angry retort.

"Why can't they just quit staring at use?" She hissed.

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. But I wish they would stop."

She nodded and gave one of the passers-by, a tall man with bushy brown eyebrows and a moustache, a particularly dark glare.

"We're not some animals in a petting zoo!" Valerie said through clenched teeth and she could hear Hagrid's deep laughter rumbling in front of them.

"Yeh better get used ter it, Valerie," the giant said. "Yer famous, 'course, everyone's gonna stare at yeh!"

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," she mumbled as they crossed the street.

When they had reached Paddington station, Hagrid stopped and glanced at the clock.

"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. "I know yer not hungry, but yeh've been walkin' around all day. I won' take no fer an answer."

In the end, he bought them both a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them.

Valerie looked at her food with distaste. She really wasn't hungry at all but slowly started to take small bites of her burger.

"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.

Valerie glanced over at her brother. He chewed his hamburger absentmindedly while observing their surroundings.

After a while, Harry finally spoke. "Everyone thinks I'm special." He looked up at Hagrid. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night our parents died."

Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows, he wore a very kind smile.

"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."

Harry thankfully smiled at Hagrid.

"But what about me, Hagrid?" Valerie finally asked, voicing her concern for the first time. "I'm not special. I didn't defeat Vol- I mean, You Know Who, and I don't have a scar on my forehead! How can they expect _me_ to do great things?"

Hagrid sighed and took her hands, which looked ridiculously tiny compared to his. "Now yeh listen. Yer parents were one of the mos' talented people I ever knew, 'n with a wand like that," he pointed at the box wrapped in brown paper that was resting on her lap. "Yeh've got nothin' ter be afraid of. Yeh can always trust Ollivander's judgement, Valerie."

Valerie nodded but she still wasn't fully convinced. "But what if I disappoint them? What if the wand is wrong?"

At this, Hagrid let out a rumbling laugh. "Impossible. Yeh'll see, Valerie. Now, I believe yeh've got a train ter catch."

Hagrid helped them on to the train that would take them back to the Dursleys, then handed each of them an envelope. Valerie looked at it quizzically, turning it in her hand.

"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," Hagrid explained. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, they'll know where to find me... See yeh soon. Take care, will yeh?"

"Promise," Valerie answered and smiled up at him before getting on the train.

Harry followed after her and even rose in his seat to press his nose against the window to get one last look at Hagrid when the rain pulled out of the station.

Valerie sighed and rested her head in her hands. It would be a full month before they would see him again. A full four weeks that they'd have to spend with the Dursleys until they would finally be off on their way to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **Note: I did do some research before selecting a wand for Valerie and before you say: "There is only one Elder Wand." Yes, there is only one wand made of Elder wood combined with a Thestral tail-hair core and it is supposed to be the most powerful wand in history. BUT: apparently, there have been other wands made of Elder wood but with different cores (if the Harry Potter wikia can be believed). They are very rare but it's not impossible to own one.**

 **Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone!**

 **My apologies for uploading so infrequently. I'm still not 100% fit and since exams are coming up in two weeks, I'm very busy right now. I'm working of the story almost every day, editing and adding bits and pieces so even if you'll have to wait for new uploads to come, I have not abandoned the story. ;)**

 **I hope you all like the chapter and please leave behind a review so I know if you guys like what I'm doing here. :)**

* * *

After their visit to Diagon Alley, life with the Dursleys was not quite the same anymore. Dudley was so scared of them after the incident in the cabin, that he refused to stay in the same room and even stopped tormenting Harry. While this was certainly an improvement, their aunt and uncle had apparently decided to treat them like air. Even Valerie, who was used to being overlooked more often than not, found it depressing after a while.

Neither she nor Harry were quite sure what to make of this _un-Dursley-like_ behaviour.

Despite being ignored by their aunt and uncle, Valerie had a very bad feeling that the peace in the Dursley-Potter household was a temporary one; not least because of the burning hatred she could detect in Uncle Vernon's eyes every time they shared the same room.

He was a ticking time-bomb, she concluded and also warned Harry to keep his distance in case said bomb did indeed explode.

"What do you think Hogwarts will be like?" Harry asked one night after they had gone to bed early and neither of them could sleep.

"I don't know," Valerie replied and turned around to face him. "But it can't possibly be worse than living here."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I hope that we can stay in Hogwarts until next summer," he said next. "I don't want to spent another Christmas with Aunt Marge."

"We could always threaten to hex her," Valerie suggested innocently, though there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Harry laughed.

Hedwig, her brother's beautiful snowy owl, and her own large European eagle owl, who she had decided to call Minerva, clicked happily with their beaks at the noise. The two birds often were their only companions now that the Dursleys ignored them. Both were currently sharing Minerva's bigger cage, their big glowing eyes watching them curiously.

"I wish time would pass faster," Harry sighed. "September seems endlessly far away."

"It's only three weeks, Harry," Valerie said. "Besides, we can read all our books in advance now that we've got the time! I started with Magical Theory and found it quite easy. Maybe it won't be as difficult for us as we imagined."

"But it's only theory, Val," Harry complained. "I want to learn practical skills like using spells. A History of Magic was okay, at least Bathilda Bagshot had a few interesting stories to tell."

"Yes," Valerie said. "But reading Magical Theory first seemed like the most logical thing to do. You can't practice spells if you don't know the necessary basics."

She could see Harry rolling his eyes at her.

"You know," he said with a grin. "Sometimes you are an 'insufferable know-it-all, Ms. Potter'"

His voice had gotten higher at the end of the sentence, making him sound very much like their former maths teacher, Mrs. Collins, who had indeed called her that on more than one occasion.

They both laughed at that and Valerie punched him playfully on the arm.

During the next three weeks of their remaining stay at Privet Drive, Valerie often found herself lying in bed and reading through her new schoolbooks late into the night. They were all very interesting and she couldn't wait for their school term to start to learn how to use her wand.

Hedwig and Minerva were allowed out of their cages at night and happily swooped in and out of the bedroom window, enjoying their freedom. It was a good thing that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because they both kept bringing back dead mice. Neither Harry nor Valerie minded though and got rid of the dead animals before their aunt could find them in her house.

Harry had pinned a large piece of paper on one of the walls in their room and every morning he ticked off another day, counting down to September the first.

On the last day of August, Valerie suddenly realised that they needed to get to King's Cross station somehow. It had totally slipped their minds and so neither of them had worried about getting to London until the last minute.

"Well, we could always ask Uncle Vernon to give us a lift," Harry suggested as they had run out of alternative ideas.

Since it was their best option, Valerie walked down to the living room in the evening to speak to his aunt and uncle about the matter. They were watching a quiz show on television, which she made out to be 'Who wants to be a millionaire?', and neither of them acknowledged her presence.

She cleared her throat to let them know she was there, and Dudley, who she hadn't seen sitting in front of the couch, screamed and ran from the room.

"Er - Uncle Vernon?" Valerie asked carefully.

Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. It was a start.

"Er – Harry and I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to - to go to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon grunted again. She wasn't sure whether it was a sign of disapproval or indifference so she continued.

"Would it be all right if you gave us a lift?"

Grunt. Valerie supposed that meant yes.

"Thank you." She said in what she hoped was a thankful tone.

Somehow, Valerie had expected more resistance from her uncle at the mention of going to Hogwarts. The twins had decided that it was best to send her to the living room alone since Uncle Vernon hated Harry with an almost abnormal passion.

There was no further reply and so she turned around, about to go back upstairs, when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" He asked in a mocking tone but Valerie remained silent.

The truth was, she didn't have an answer for Uncle Vernon. How could she? She didn't know _how_ exactly wizards travelled from one place to another. His point, however, seemed legit.

"Where is this school, anyway?"

"I don't know," said Valerie, realising this for the first time.

Hagrid had never told them where Hogwarts was located. It had to be in Britain, otherwise they wouldn't be using English as their language to communicate.

She pulled the ticket Hagrid had given her out of her pocket. Maybe it would indicate to where they would be going.

"We just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," she read.

There was nothing else on it; not even a destination.

Her aunt and uncle stared, the disbelief showing clearly on their faces.

"Platform what?" asked Aunt Petunia.

"Nine and three-quarters."

Valerie didn't understand their confusion. Was there something wrong with platform nine and three-quarters?

"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon who now had a nasty grin on his face. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."

"It's on my ticket." Valerie said and held it out so he could read it. "Here, it says that the Hogwarts Express is leaving tomorrow at eleven o'clock on platform nine and three-quarters. What's wrong with that?"

"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

"Why are you going to London?" Valerie asked, trying to keep things friendly after just having informed her uncle about taking a train from a platform that apparently didn't exist.

The thought wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."

"Oh," was all she said, trying not to smirk. "Thank you, Uncle Vernon."

Dudley deserved it, Valerie thought. He already looked so much like a pig that the tail really was an improvement in her eyes. Of course, she couldn't say this out loud in front of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia; they'd lock her up in the cupboard and she'd never get to see Hogwarts.

"Yes, yes," her uncle said dismissively and waved her off. "Now go back to your room! Your aunt and I want to watch that show."

Valerie retreated quickly from the living room and almost ran up the stairs to her room. When she opened the door, Harry quickly sat up on the bed and looked at her expectantly.

"How'd it go?" He asked nervously.

Valerie grinned. "They're going to drive us to King's Cross tomorrow since they're already taking Dudley to the hospital to have his new tail removed."

"Pity," Harry said with a huge grin. "I kind of like his new look."

That made them both laugh.

Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning. Usually, Valerie didn't mind; she was used to her brother being up early. This time, however, he just couldn't sit still; he kept turning from one side to the other in bed and when he finally did get up, he started pacing the room.

"For Christ's sake, Harry," Valerie hissed still half asleep. "Would you please stop doing that!"

"Sorry," he apologized.

He was not going back to bed, however, and instead sat down on the windowsill to look out on the street. Content that her brother at least kept quiet this time, Valerie closed her eyes again but sleep just wouldn't come back. Now that Harry had woken her up, the realisation that this was actually their last day with the Dursleys and that it would be a very long time – almost an entire year – until they'd see them again hit her with full force. Ten months without Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia yelling at them simply because they shared the same space; ten months without Dudley and his gang! Valerie was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.

She inwardly cursed Harry for waking her up but looking at him, she saw that he was as nervous and excited as she herself.

"Should we start packing?" Valerie asked through a yawn.

Harry smiled. "I'd love to," he said. "But I don't want to wake Uncle Vernon earlier than necessary."

"Oh, come on," Valerie whined. "This is so exciting! And we'll be rid of them in a few hours anyway." She jumped out of bed, her white nightgown hanging from shoulder. "I'll do it. You can just sit here and watch – I'll need some packing advice."

Harry looked at her unsure when she kneeled down on the floor and tried to pull out her trunk from under the bed.

"Uff – " she groaned. "I could use a little help here, Harry. Please."

He rolled his eyes but hopped off the windowsill and helped her pull out the trunk – it was quite heavy but they managed to drag it to the middle of the small room.

Valerie went to their closet and looked at her set of clothes. A long sigh escaped her mouth when she realised that she'd be going to Hogwarts with nothing else than Aunt Petunia's old skirts and blouses (she chose not to pack the ugly yellow one though). She'd look ridiculous in it and was glad that they had to wear a school uniform in class.

"Do you think we'll need a hair dryer?" She asked and turned to look at Harry.

"I-I don't know," he answered honestly, shrugging. "I don't usually use one."

Valerie rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. Aunt Petunia would never allow her to take their hair dryer anyway. "Well, I suppose no then… Let's see…" She took out her Hogwarts list. "I've got my robes, my books, parchment and quill, the potion ingredients… Oh, how do we transport the cauldron?"

"We'll carry it, I suppose," Harry answered. "I mean, it's too big for the trunk."

Valerie nodded. He was right; it wouldn't fit in the trunk with all her clothes and other equipment so she'd have to carry it along with Minerva's cage.

Two hours later – they had been waiting for the Dursleys to wake up after they'd finished packing Harry's trunk – their baggage had been loaded into Uncle Vernon's new car. Dudley was throwing a tantrum because Aunt Petunia had asked him to sit next to Harry and it took his parents almost thirty minutes to calm him down so they could set off.

The car ride was uneventful, except for a few warning glances from Uncle Vernon whenever one of them tried to speak.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten.

When the building came into sight, Valerie shifted nervously in her seat. She would finally be rid of her dreadful relatives – even if it was only temporary – and get to know a whole bunch of new people just like her and Harry.

Valerie and Harry got out of the car as soon as they had found a parking space while Dudley and Aunt Petunia remained seated, not even bothering to say their goodbyes.

To their surprise, Uncle Vernon dumped their trunks onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for them. It was a strangely kind gesture and very much un-Vernon-like and they soon found out the purpose of it when Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, there you are. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" He said in an outright evil tone.

Valerie swallowed as she followed her brother's gaze to the big plastic number nine over one platform and the big plastic number ten over the one next to it. Their platform should be right in the middle. Only, there was nothing between platforms nine and ten except a barrier to separate the two.

"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile and left without another word.

When they turned, and watched the Dursleys drive away, all three of them were laughing. "W-what are we going to do now, Harry?" Valerie asked, nervously playing with a strand of her hair.

Her brother turned to look around. He spotted a guard who was currently talking to an elderly woman in a bright green coat.

"Come," Harry said, pushing his cart in the man's direction. "There's a guard over there, maybe he can help."

Nodding, Valerie followed behind him, trying to ignore the stares they received by passers-by.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry said when they'd reached the guard. "My sister and I have to take the train at eleven o'clock from platform nine and three-quarters. We were wondering if you could tell us where it is?"

The guard raised an eyebrow and gave them an incredulous glance. "Platform nine and three-quarters? I've heard better jokes, boy. Now, sod off!"

They stared at the guard but didn't dare argue with him.

"Well, he wasn't very friendly, was he?" Harry asked.

"What now?" Valerie said, trying hard not to panic. "We only have ten minutes left to get to the train."

They were stranded in the middle of a station, Valerie couldn't even lift her own trunk, with only a pocket full of wizard money – which would get them nowhere in the muggle world - and two large owls.

"Did Hagrid mention anything else in Diagon Alley?" Harry asked but Valerie shook her head. "Well, he must have forgotten to tell us what to do once we got here. Something like, I don't know, tapping the third brick on the left to get to the platform…"

Valerie frowned and almost reached for her own wand, which was neatly tugged away in the pocket of her jacket, when a group of people passed just behind them.

"- packed with Muggles, of course -"

Valerie immediately glanced over at Harry when she caught the words and he nodded; this was their chance.

They swung round and followed the group that was led a plump woman who was talking to four boys. They all had flaming red hair and Valerie was reminded of the boy she had seen in one of the shops in Diagon Alley. Maybe they were related?

The heavy trunks that the two boys were pushing in front of them and the big brown owl told Valerie enough to know that they were following the right people.

Her heart was now hammering with excitement and she took a deep breath.

When the group stopped only a few moments later, Harry and Valerie watched them from a distance, near enough so they could hear them speak.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the plump woman who obviously was the mother of the boys.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go... "

Valerie hadn't even seen her between all the boys.

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet." The mother turned to look at one of her sons and waved him over. "All right, Percy, you go first."

Percy seemed to be the oldest of the brothers. He too had bright red hair and a very business-like expression on his face.

"Alright, mother, see you later," he said in a very important voice and marched straight toward platforms nine and ten.

Valerie held her breath, watching the boy carefully without blinking in case she missed something, but a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of Percy just as he reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms. When the tourists had gone, the boy had simply… vanished.

"Where did he go?" Valerie whispered to Harry who shrugged.

"No idea, Val," he said. "We'll just wait for the next one."

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said, waving the next boy over.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," replied the boy she had spoken to. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

Valerie giggled. They were twins, just like Harry and Val.

"Sorry, George, dear." The woman apologised and the boy grinned.

"Only joking, I am Fred," he called over his shoulder before he too vanished.

A second later, his twin brother, George, had gone as well - but how on earth had they done it? Where had they gone?

They had been walking toward the barrier but before they had gotten there, they'd vanished. Valerie blinked rapidly. Had she imagined it all? A glance toward Harry told her that he had just seen the same thing.

"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman, pushing his cart toward her.

Valerie followed him, trailing in his shadow so that they wouldn't immediately see her. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of wizards who were already used to the magic ways of travelling to Hogwarts.

"Hello, dear," she said when she saw them approaching. "Can I help you with anything?"

The woman had a kind looking face and she smiled warmly when Valerie shyly glanced over her brother's shoulder.

"First time at Hogwarts?" She asked knowingly. "Don't worry, dear. Ron's new, too."

She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons who gave them an encouraging smile. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is - the thing is, we don't know how to -"

"How to get onto the platform?" the woman said kindly, and Harry nodded.

Valerie immediately liked her and slowly pushed her cart around to stand next to her brother.

"Not to worry, dearies," she said kindly. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

"Er - okay," said Harry and pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier.

He swallowed hard and started to walk toward it. Valerie could see the nervousness in his eyes when he passed her. She didn't immediately follow him but merely watched him with interest.

Harry walked more quickly now, obviously taking the woman's advice to heart – Valerie couldn't blame him; she'd do the same. The barrier was coming nearer – and then he was gone.

Valerie stared at the spot where her brother had vanished. She looked back at the woman who was still smiling.

"Don't worry," she said. "Off you go."

Valerie hesitated. "What if it doesn't work for me?"

The woman laughed. "You've received your Hogwarts letter?"

Valerie nodded.

"You can trust Dumbledore's judgement, dear," the woman assured her. "Here, let me push that trolley with you and we will walk through the barrier together, okay?"

She placed one hand on Valerie's cart, the small red-haired girl holding her other, and turned to her youngest son. "You go first, Ronald."

The boy nodded and gave them a last smile before disappearing.

"Now," the woman said. "Ready?"

Valerie nodded although she wasn't sure at all if the was ready to smash into the barrier. What if the woman went through without her?

They leaned forward to push the cart toward the barrier which was coming nearer

and nearer. Valerie's heart hammered in her chest, they were a foot away and she closed her eyes ready for the crash - it didn't come.

She opened his eyes and gasped.

There it was, a massive scarlet steam engine, waiting next to a platform packed with people – the Hogwarts Express.

A big smile spread over her face and she looked up to the woman who was still helping her push the cart.

"Thank you, ma'am," Valerie said.

"No problem, dear," she answered kindly. "Now, you best go and find your brother. I'm sure he is he somewhere."

Valerie nodded and went looking for Harry in the chattering crowd of people.

She saw cats of every colour and race winding between their legs. Some of the people even let out a curse or two when they tripped over one of the furry animals and nearly fell down. Owls

hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way and Minerva responded, her big orange eyes scanning the crowd excitedly.

She found her brother a few carriages down the train trying lift his trunk up the stairs and dropping it twice on his foot.

"Ouch," he winced when she'd reached him. "Oh, there you are. I wanted to look for you once I had my trunk stored away."

"Want a hand?" They suddenly heard a voice from behind them.

It was the twins, Fred and George, who now stood in front of them.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Step away and let the big boys handle it," one of them said with a grin. "Come on, George, let's show those first years how it's done."

Valerie giggled.

The twins heaved Harry's trunk up the stairs which took their combined strength, but they eventually managed to tuck it away in a corner of the empty compartment.

"My lady," one of the boys, George Valerie suspected, said and she stepped away from her cart to let them handle her trunk as well.

"Thank you," she said when they were done, panting heavily from the effort.

"Nah," one of the boys said, grinning. "Fred and George Weasley, at your service."

"Nice to meet you," Valerie said, shaking their hands. "I'm Valerie. This is my brother, Harry."

Harry smiled at them and their eyes grew wide.

"Blimey," said one of the twins. "Are you?"

They looked from Harry to Valerie, then at each other.

"They are," said the other twin. "Aren't you?"

"What?" said Harry and Valerie automatically.

"The Potters," chorused the twins.

This was the first time they had been referred to as 'the Potters'. It sounded strange in Valerie's ears and she wished that people would stop calling them names like 'the Boy Who Lived' or 'the Chosen One' or, in this case, 'the Potters'.

"Oh," said Harry. "Yes, that's us."

"Why?" added Valerie slightly annoyed.

The twins raised their arms defensively.

"No offense meant," said Fred. "Right, George?"

"Yeah," his brother jumped in. "We'd never be rude, would we, Fred?"

"No, definitely not."

"It's just that you don't get to meet the most famous wizard and witch on a daily basis," George said with a grin.

They were still gawking at them and Valerie felt herself turning red.

Then, to her relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

It was Mrs. Weasley, the plump woman who had politely helped them get to platform nine and three-quarters.

"Coming, Mom." The twins chorused and, with a last look at Harry and Valerie, they hopped off the train.

"Well," Harry said, sitting down next to the window where he could watch the red-haired family on the platform. "That was weird."

"Mhm," Valerie agreed and sat down opposite of him, turning just in time to see Mrs. Weasley taking out a handkerchief.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose," she said and grabbed her youngest son by the arm.

Ron tried to wiggle free of his mother's grip but failed miserably and had to endure her assault on his nose.

He grimaced, turning his head away from her. "Mom – geroffme"

Ron finally managed to wriggle free and rubbed his nose.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"Shut up," said Ron, punching him on the shoulder.

Back in the train, Valerie and Harry watched the scene with amusement, giggling behind their hands.

"Poor Ron," Harry said. "That must be embarrassing…"

"Where's Percy?" They heard Mrs. Weasley suddenly say as she turned around to search the crowd for the eldest son.

"He's coming now," said one of the twins but before Valerie could spot Percy in the crowd, the door to their compartment opened.

"E-excuse me," said a shy voice. "The other compartments are all full. Is anyone sitting there?"

It was the boy Valerie had seen in one of the shops in Diagon Alley. His red hair was as messy as she remembered it and he chewed nervously on his lower lip. It was cute, Valerie thought and smiled at the boy who turned a deep shade of red.

"No," Harry said politely. "Please, have a seat."

"Oh," the boy said, clearly relieved to have found a seat and sat down next to him. "Thanks. I'm Charles, by the way, Charles Prewett."

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," Harry replied with a smile.

The boy, Charles, stared at him.

"Y-you're H-Harry Potter?" He breathed, his hazel eyes wide with surprise. "And do you really have – the scar?"

Harry pushed his black hair out of his forehead to reveal the lightning bolt shaped scar.

"Woah!" Charles said. "Cool!"

Harry glanced over at Valerie who didn't understand at all how something like this could possibly be 'cool'.

"Sorry," Charles said, suddenly aware of their reaction. "It's just – you're so famous in our world. I grew up hearing stories about how you defeated You Know Who. It's so surreal to meet someone like you on the train to Hogwarts."

"It's alright," Harry said with a shrug. "I'll have to get used to it, I guess."

"Oh, okay," Charles said relieved. "I promise I won't stare at you anymore. You are his sister, right?" He added, turning to Valerie.

"I'm Valerie," she answered. "We've met before. Do you remember?"

Charles turned red and nodded. "In Diagon Alley, a month ago."

"Yeah, you were buying some parchment and quills with your mum," Valerie said, smiling.

"Oh, no," he replied, shaking his head. "Paddy's not my mum. She's my godmother, I live with her just outside of London."

"You don't live with your parents?" The question was out before Valerie could stop it and she immediately regretted asking it as the boy's eyes turned sad.

"My parents are dead," he replied shortly.

"Oh, sorry," Harry said. "We didn't know that."

"It's okay, "Charles said. "They died a long time ago. It's just – I'd prefer not to talk about it, that's all."

They nodded and went back to looking out of the window and onto the platform that was still filled with people.

The Weasley boys had apparently already entered the train because when Valerie spotted Mrs. Weasley in the crowd, she was alone with only her daughter still holding her hand.

The woman caught their eyes and waved at them.

"Have fun in Hogwarts, dearies!" She called over the chatter of the crowd while her daughter nervously tugged at her shirt.

"Can I go see them, mum?" The small girl whined. "Please!"

"No, Ginny," her mother said sternly. "Leave the poor children alone. They've had enough staring and finger-pointing already, I'm sure. You'll meet them in Hogwarts next year, dear."

A whistle sounded and Valerie spotted three of the Weasley boys who leaned out of the window for their mother to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," Fred assured her with a grin.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," added George.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley said outraged. "What did I tell you – no more of your nonsense at Hogwarts!"

"Only joking, Mom," the twin said as the train began to move.

Valerie saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.

They were finally on their way to Hogwarts.

Valerie grinned at the thought of Uncle Vernon's face when they told him that there was indeed a platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station. She glanced over at Harry whose eyes shone with excitement.

This was going to be the best school year they'd ever had.

* * *

 **Okay, now to the important stuff:**

 **1.) Before you kill me for naming Valerie's owl Minerva, let me explain - I found out the the name Minerva actually means wisdom (it was a coincidence, really) and since owls are often a symbol for wisdom, I found the name fitting.**

 **2.) I know that the Prewett family only lives on through Molly Weasley (née Prewett) but my Charles Prewett is the son of Lucretia and Ignatius Prewett who were both murdered in the first wizarding war. He is an OC and belongs to me, not J.K. Rowling. :)**

 **3.) As an answer to my latest guest reviewer: Valerie is far from perfect and will encounter many obstacles along the way - which ones? You'll have to find out... *hehehe* xD That said: Thanks for the review! I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the chapters! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know it's been over a year since I last posted something but I spent some time re-writing what I had already done for future chapters so it wouldn't seem like I'm copying J.K. Rowling's books. I also got a little discouraged by some of the reviews and wasn't sure if I should even continue writing - but, I decided to go on as there were a lot of positive comments as well and thought you might like an update. :)**

 **I know it's been a long time but I would love to know if you guys are still interested in reading this fanfiction.**

* * *

Houses flashed past the window in a blur of colours and Valerie felt a great leap of excitement. Their departure from King's Cross marked a whole new chapter in their lives and it felt good to leave the Dursleys behind.

"Charles," she began. "Is this your first time going to Hogwarts as well?"

She had so many questions and she hoped that the red-haired boy opposite of her could tell her more about the wizarding world.

He nodded. "Yeah, I received my letter ages ago though. I couldn't wait to go to Diagon Alley but Aunt Paddy told me to wait…. She can be horribly strict sometimes, you know…"

The door of the compartment slid open once more before Valerie could reply and the youngest of the Weasley boys came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat next to her. "Everywhere else is full."

They shook their heads and the boy sat down. He glanced at Charles and grinned.

"Hey Charles," Ron said. "Didn't see you on the platform. When did you get there?"

"Paddy brought me to King's Cross half an hour before departure so I had enough time to find a seat," he explained. "It was pointless, though. The older students didn't want me in their compartments so I went looking for an empty one."

"You know each other?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yeah," Ron said, looking at Harry for the first time since taking his seat. "We're cousins."

Then, he nervously cleared his throat. "So," he began. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Harry asked.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

Harry nodded while Charles and Valerie snickered at the boy's question.

"Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got - you know..." He leaned in closer and whispered. "The scar."

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.

"Wicked," he said. "And – do you remember…"

"No," said Harry quickly. "I can't remember anything. There was a lot of green light, but nothing else."

Suddenly realising that he was still staring, Ron looked quickly out of the window. Valerie saw that he still had a black mark on his nose.

"Hey, Ron."

The door to their compartment slid open again and revealed the twins standing next to each other.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there," said Fred.

Valerie shuddered.

"You don't like spiders, Biscuit?" He said with a grin. "Don't worry, we won't let it hurt you."

"Biscuit?" Valerie said puzzled. "And no, I don't like spiders. They're hairy and disgusting, and in case you haven't noticed; they have _eight_ legs. That's unnatural."

"Well," George said. "You look like a biscuit, right Fred?"

"Yeah, you basically screamed 'biscuit' when we first saw you, Biscuit," added Fred. "Of course, I suppose we _could_ call you Valerie."

"True," said George. "But where would be the fun in that?"

He winked at her.

"Well, why don't you give Harry a nickname, then?" She said, a merry twinkle in her eyes.

Valerie liked the twins, they were fun to be around even though they had met only recently.

They looked at her shocked.

"Valerie," George said, placing a hand over his heart, mocking her. "I can't believe you would even suggest such a frivolous thing."

"Yes," Fred agreed. "You can't just give the _Chosen One_ a nickname. That would be outright scandalous!"

"And here we thought to invite you to the Weasley Club," George finished. "You sorely disappoint us, Biscuit."

"The Weasley Club?" Valerie asked. "What on earth is that?"

Now, the twins grinned at her.

"The most exclusive club in all of Hogwarts," Fred answered. "Only the best of the best are allowed to join."

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "And who would that be?"

"Right now," George said. "It is my brother Fred, Lee and my humble self. No other wizard or witch has been found worthy of receiving a membership so far."

"We feel, however," added Fred dramatically. "That you, Biscuit, are indeed worthy of joining us."

"How come?" Valerie asked, laughing. "I thought the Boy Who Lived would be the more obvious choice."

"Ah," George said. "But – no offense, Harry – we are looking for discreet members who, preferably, do not stand in the centre of attention."

"If you catch the meaning," Fred winked.

"Ah, no," said Valerie slowly.

"Don't listen to them," Ron interrupted. "They get in all sorts of trouble all the time."

"Trouble is our middle name," George said, grinning. "Isn't that right, Fred?"

"Yes, George," his brother replied. "We practically invented it."

Ron rolled his eyes at his brothers who laughed in unison.

"What kind of trouble?" Valerie asked, intrigued by the twins.

"Ah, you know," George said innocently. "A missing toilet seat here…"

"A suddenly popping up swamp there…"

"Maybe."

"From time to time."

"If it is absolute necessary."

"A missing student."

"Who shows up in the girl's lavatory a day or so later," concluded George.

"Leave her alone," said Ron who clearly wanted to be left alone by his brothers.

"Alright, Ronnikins," Fred said. "We wouldn't want to cause any trouble, would we?"

"You're absolutely right, Fred," added George. "Who do they think we are?"

"See you later then," they chorused and left.

"Oh," said Fred, looking back over his shoulder. "Do let us know if you're interested, Biscuit."

With that, they vanished down the train.

"Are they always like that?" Harry asked, still smiling.

"Fred and George?" Ron asked. "Yes. You have to be really careful with them. They like to play pranks on people – it's nothing really serious where people come to harm, but they like a good laugh. Drives mum insane."

"Are all your family wizards?" continued Harry.

"Er - Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"Why?" asked Valerie who was now really interested in learning more about the Weasleys after just having met Fred and George.

Ron frowned, then shrugged. "I think he is a Squib and he and mum had a falling out of some sorts. I've never actually met him though."

"Who?" Charles joined in. "Do you mean Robert? He moved to the States as far as I know, works for some big company now."

Ron looked at his cousin. "How do you know that?"

Charles shrugged. "Heard Paddy mention it a few years ago. She was furious about him – I don't remember why though."

"Anyway, the rest of my family are all wizards who attended Hogwarts," Ron finished happily.

"Cool," said Valerie. "I bet you know all about magic then! It'll be easy for you in Hogwarts…"

The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about and she was excited to know a member of the family.

"Oh, no," Charles answered. "Hailing from a wizarding family doesn't mean anything. We don't get to learn magic until we attend Hogwarts. There are laws and rules that forbit the use of underage magic."

Hearing that immediately lifted Valerie's spirits. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who'd never performed any magic before.

"Your parents don't teach you anything in advance?" She asked curiously. "You're not allowed to do even a little bit of magic?"

Ron shook his head. "No – unfortunately," he answered with a hint of disappointment.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron now. "What are they like?"

"Ugh," said Valerie, grimacing at the thought of her relatives. "Don't ask."

"Horrible - well, not all of them. Our aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers," added Harry.

"Hey!" Valerie exclaimed. "You've got me, brother dearest. And I _am_ a witch!"

Harry grinned. "Yeah, right, I almost forgot…"

She leaned over and punched him playfully on the shoulder. They'd never had a big argument before and each knew when the other was only joking around.

"Five," said Ron suddenly.

"What?" Harry said who had not been paying attention after Valerie had hit him.

"I said," repeated Ron. "I have five brothers, not three."

For some reason, he was looking gloomy. Valerie couldn't imagine why; she'd love to have five brothers. It would be so much more fun!

"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to," he muttered. "Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

"Oh," said Valerie. "Don't worry Ron, we know what that feels like."

"Yeah," agreed Harry, nodding. "Everyone expects us to do great things. You should have heard Ollivander when we bought our wands."

"It's a little bit scary, you know," added Valerie who noticed that Ron looked a tad less pale now that they had mentioned that they too were under a lot of pressure. "At least, you're not famous. If you don't live up to expectations, only your family will know. If we fail, the whole wizarding community will hear about it."

"Well," he said. "I guess, you're right about that. Sorry."

"Aunt Paddy doesn't expect a lot from me," Charles said with a depressed expression. "She said if I'm anything like my dad, I'd be lucky to make it to my seventh year."

"Oh, no, Charles," Valerie said. "Why would she say something horrible like this about you?"

"Don't listen to her, Charles," agreed Ron. "From what my mum told us, your dad was a genius. Invented new spells and the like." He frowned. "Although she did call him mad a couple of times. I wonder why?"

"Aunt Paddy said dad liked to experiment with dangerous spells," Charles mumbled, fumbling with his shirt. "He almost blew up the house once. Mum was furious, she didn't talk to him for a whole week after that."

"But that doesn't mean you're bad at magic," Harry threw in. Valerie and Ron nodded. "I mean, your dad invented his own spells. I'm sure she's only concerned, that's all."

"Yeah," Charles said. "Maybe you're right…"

He didn't sound convinced though. Valerie felt a pang of sympathy for him and gave him a n encouraging smile.

"I just hope I'll be sorted into Gryffindor, maybe Ravenclaw," he added. "Although I doubt I'm intelligent enough for the latter…What house are you going to be in?"

"Gryffindor," Ron answered immediately. "All our family's been there."

"What about you, Harry?" Charles asked, genuinely interested.

"Ah," Harry said unsure, glancing at Valerie. "I don't know. I mean, we've never even heard of Hogwarts until Hagrid showed up at our doorstep and gave us the letter…"

He did not mention the little road trip they had taken with the Dursleys when Uncle Vernon had suddenly decided that this was the best way to avoid the letters. Maybe it was better if they kept some things to themselves, Valerie thought. Hagrid had mentioned that he wasn't allowed to do any magic – though he had not told them why – and she didn't want him to get in trouble because of them.

"But you know about the four houses, right?" Ron urged who clearly couldn't imagine that anyone would not know about Hogwarts. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin?"

Harry and Valerie nodded.

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor," Harry said after a while. "It sounds like the best option."

"Me too," answered Valerie. "Although Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad either."

"Yeah," said Ron. "Imagine being in Slytherin. Mum would kill me."

"Why?" Valerie asked concerned. "I don't think you can choose your house, can you? What if you do end up in Slytherin? Surely, she can't be this mad at you! I mean, it's only for a few years…"

She couldn't quite decipher Ron's expression; a mix between worried and unhappy. "Almost every wizard who ended up on the dark side was in Slytherin," he said. "My whole family has been in Gryffindor. Imagine their faces if I'm not!"

"We should stop worrying," Harry threw in. "We've not even arrived and if one of us ends up in Slytherin, we'll still have each other."

They all mumbled a muffled, not very convinced sounding "Mhm" and went back to staring out the window. The train had increased its speed, making the landscape look like a blur of green, blue and grey.

Valerie could feel the cold seeping through the window glass when she rested her forehead against it. Ron's words had her worried about which house she would be in. What if she ended up in Slytherin? Would it really be that bad? Would they still want to be friends with her?

"Oh, would you like to meet Scabbers?" Ron's voice came out of the blue and she turned her face away from the landscape to watch him reach inside his jacket and pull out a fat grey rat. It was asleep, either oblivious to what was happening or not bothered by it in the slightest. "He's totally useless," Ron added, looking down at the sleeping rat. "He hardly ever wakes up. He's Percy's old rat, but he got an owl from my dad for being made Prefect this year."

"Why didn't you get an owl, too?" Harry asked.

Ron's ears went pink and he avoided Harry's gaze.

"We've had Scabbers for years and my parents didn't want to -," his voice trailed off.

Valerie realised that Ron was clearly embarrassed about the topic.

"They couldn't afford to buy a new owl for me…" he finally muttered, staring down at his hands.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, they'd never had any money in their life until a month ago!

Harry began telling Ron all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents, with Valerie adding her point of view on occasion as well. This seemed to cheer Ron up who all but forgot about the sleeping rat still resting in his hands.

"... and until Hagrid gave us the letters, we didn't even know anything about wizards or about our parents or Voldemort," Harry concluded his story.

Ron gasped, a look of terror on his face.

"What?" said Harry bewildered, glancing at Valerie who shrugged helplessly.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people – I mean, since he – after - " He shook his head, looking first at Harry, then at Valerie, and then back at Harry.

Charles, who had been quiet for the last ten minutes or so, wore an equally baffled expression.

"No one ever told us that we shouldn't say his name," Valerie said after a short pause. "We had no idea he murdered our parents until Hagrid showed up on our doorstep. We always thought that they were killed in a car accident."

The two boys stared at them, both with equally shocked and confused expressions on their faces.

"How can you not know – " Ron stammered. "I mean, _everyone_ knows! You're famous and you never knew why?"

"We never even knew we were famous," Harry tried to explain. "You see, our aunt and uncle always – "

"They _lied_ to you about how your parents – how they – "

Obviously, the fact that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had withheld the truth about how the Potters had died, upset Ron a great deal as he seemed to ring for words[FW1] .

"We know the truth now," said Harry who tried to calm him down.

"Hey," Valerie suddenly said, no longer wanting to talk about the murder of her parents. "Do you know if there's a toilet on this train? I really have to go…"

Charles, who looked at her apologetically, obviously sensing her discomfort, shrugged.

"I've never thought about it," he admitted. "I mean, I've never heard of anyone having to use it."

"Try both ends of the wagon," Ron suggested. "I'm sure they have a bathroom here somewhere."

Valerie nodded, giving them a small smile before leaving their compartment. She paused for a second and then decided to give the left side a try. She did not really have to use the toilet, it was just an excuse to get away from the conversation. It wasn't so much that Valerie felt overcome by grief when talking about her parents; they were dead, a fact she'd accepted long ago, and nothing could bring them back. Of course, it hurt thinking about them, wondering what it would have been like had they lived, but she never got to know them. All she and Harry had ever known were the Dursleys who had tormented them from the day they had found them at their doorstep.

No, she just didn't like to talk about it. It was as though everyone pitied them for the loss of something they had no memory of and she hated it. She didn't want everyone to look at her with sad eyes, telling her how sorry they were.

A few people were lingering the corridor and Valerie picked up bit and pieces of their conversations as she passed them.

"I hope I'll make it on the team this year," a tall boy with curly brown hair said hopefully.

Another boy, who was over a head shorter and appeared to be his friend, snorted. "You know Diggory will ask Roy to be keeper again, Tanner."

Valerie didn't hear Tanner's reply because, at this moment, she heard someone call out for her.

"Hey, Biscuit!"

It was one of the Weasley twins, Fred or George – she wasn't sure. His red hair stood out among the other students as he waved her over to one of the compartments down the corridor.

"We were already making bets on how long it would take you to show up," he said with a grin as he stepped aside so Valerie could enter. "George gave you until the end of the train ride…"

She rolled her eyes at him, Fred, but couldn't help the grin that spread over her face. The Weasley twins had been joined by a boy with dark skin and black dreadlocks who was busy pointing his wand at a small cardboard box that was dangerously close to hopping off his lap – _hopping!?_

"Err – Fred?" Valerie asked hesitantly with a precarious glance at the moving box. "What's in there?"

Fred's grin instantly broadened, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"Biscuit, meet Lee Jordan," he joyfully introduced them. "Lee, this is Valerie Potter, the one we've been telling you about."

Lee looked up from his task and gave her a warm smile.

"Hi," he said. "Pleasure to meet you! So, you'll be joining us in Hogwarts then, huh?"

Valerie, who was still very suspicious of the box, sat down opposite of Lee and nodded. She wasn't entirely sure if he meant that it was her first year in Hogwarts, or if he was referring to their exclusive Weasley Club.

Lee leaned over to pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you'll get through it in one peace," he said jokingly.

"Stop scaring her, Lee," George chuckled, seeing her pale expression. "It'll be fun, Biscuit, promise! Especially now that you have us to look out for you."

"Yeah," Fred added. "We wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the Greasy Git."

"Or Mrs. Norris."

"Or Filch."

"Or Peeves."

"Although he can be a valuable ally in certain situations."

Valerie stared at them bewildered. She had absolutely no idea who or what a Greasy Git was.

"Is Mrs. Norris one of the teachers?" Valerie asked curiously and the three boys burst out laughing.

"Mrs. Norris," said Fred breathlessly. "Is one of the most vicious felines roaming the planet… I strongly believe that she is possessed by the devil. Her intentions are always evil…"

"Why? Does she scratch?" Valerie said.

Fred shook his head. "She's Filches cat."

"Filch hates students."

"And because Filch hates students, Mrs. Norris has made it her personal task to help him torment us."

"Who is Filch?" Valerie wanted to know.

She had so many questions and the more the Weasley twins and Lee told her, the more kept coming up.

The three boys exchanged glances and nodded in unison; they had obviously come to a conclusion.

"Since you're now officially an accomplice," Fred said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "it's time we introduce you to the basic rules at Hogwarts - are you ready?"

"Ready?" Valerie asked perplexed. "Ready for what?"

"For a lesson in survival," George said happily. "If you want to have a good time at Hogwarts without getting in trouble, you'll need it, Biscuit."

"Yeah," Lee added with a nod while still having a firm hold of the shaking box in his lap whose content Valerie wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

"Alright," she said, leaning forward. "I'm listening."

While they were talking, the train carried them out of London and away from the Dursleys who Valerie and Harry – hopefully - wouldn't be seeing again until next summer. It was a nice thought, being able to spend their lives without being tormented by their nephew or uncle Vernon and Valerie was looking forward to finally set foot in her new school.

The train had picked up speed on its way out of the city and was now flying past fields, lanes and occasional rivers or lakes.

"How long have you been at Hogwarts?", Valerie asked.

She was still keeping an eye on Lee's mysterious box that was suspiciously calm after having tried to escape the past two hours – had it really been two hours since she'd left the others in their compartment?

"It's our third year now," George said. "Time to explore the new tunnel we discovered near McGonagall's office."

"My thoughts exactly, George," his brother nodded. "It would be a shame if no-one were to find out were it leads to…"

"A waste of space…"

There was a knock at the door to their compartment and a second later Charles stuck in his head and looked around.

"Oh, there you are," he said, sounding a little bit relieved. "We thought you might have gotten lost on your way to the bathroom."

Fred raised an eyebrow. "You never told us you wanted to use the bathroom, Biscuit."

"Indeed, she didn't," George confirmed with a nod. "Had we known, we would have offered our assistance."

"Without a doubt. We could never abandon a damsel in distress."

Valerie chuckled and rolled her eyes. She liked the twins' humour, knowing that they would help her if she really needed it.

"Sorry, Charles," she said apologetically. "I kind of lost track of time. Fred and George were telling me about Hogwarts…"

Charles looked at them suspiciously. "You're not scheming already, are you?" he asked. "Paddy constantly rants about all the mischief you two get up to at school."

The twins looked shocked.

"We'd never…," Fred said mockingly.

"Who does she think we are?"

"After everything we've accomplished…"

They shook their heads, making both Valerie and Charles smile.

"Listen," Charles said, his slightly nervous nature from earlier returning. "I wanted to ask, if you want to come back to the others… We should be there shortly, so I thought maybe you'd want to…"

Valerie sighed. As much as she'd enjoyed talking to their new friends, she silently admitted that she preferred Fred, George and Lee's company. At least, they didn't inquire about her past or wanted to know if she or Harry remembered Voldemort.

"Alright," she said and reluctantly stood up. "Thanks for all the… _useful advice_ you gave me."

She grinned as the three Gryffindors winked at her playfully.

"No need to thank us, Biscuit," Fred said with a slight bow. "We're always happy to help out."

"Yes," George said. "Especially, since you're an official member of the most exclusive club in Hogwart's history."

"We'll see you at the sorting ceremony!" Lee called after her as she and Charles left to return to their own compartment.

"What _were_ you talking about?" Charles asked curiously.

Valerie grinned. "How to avoid Filch and the most devious feline on this planet, among other things."

"You do realise that they constantly get in trouble, don't you?", Charles said as he pulled open the door to their compartment.

Valerie shrugged. "I like them", she confessed. "And they can't be that bad. Besides, they only do it to have fun, not to hurt people."

She was actually looking forward to spending more time with those three and hoped that they would be in the same house.

"I think we should change," Charles said hesitantly as he peered out of the window.

He was right. It was getting dark outside, the setting sun turning the sky a beautiful purple and pink colour as the trained weaved its way through mountains and forests, taking them closer to their new school.

They pulled on the long black robes they'd be wearing in class from now on and Valerie felt her heart jump excitedly at the thought of finally doing magic! It was like a dream come true, an escape from the people she and Harry called family despite their unloving behaviour toward them.

"Nervous?", Harry asked with a light smile.

"A little," she confessed, biting her lower lip.

A voice echoed through the train as they were beginning to slow down: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Said five minutes went flying by as the train finally stopped and everyone suddenly started pushing their way toward the doors and out on to the platform. It was barely lit, only one lantern hanging above a single dark green bench spending some light for the many students exiting the Hogwarts-Express.

It was colder outside than they'd anticipated and Valerie shivered in the cool evening air. She looked up in surprise when a second lamp came bobbing over their heads and Hagrid's familiar silhouette came into sight.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!", he shouted and one of his massive hands gestured for them to come closer. "All right there, Harry, Valerie?" The two of them nodded and smiled at seeing their friend. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Hagrid turned around after making sure that everyone was were they were supposed to be and started making his way into the darkness. They followed him but since the only source of light was the lamp the game keeper was carrying, neither of them could even remotely see were they were going.

The path was narrow and slippery, forcing them to be extra careful and hold onto each other's cloaks to prevent themselves from stumbling. They were all so focused on keeping up Hagrid's quick pace, that nobody actually spoke a word. Only quiet sobs could be heard from time to time but it was impossible for Valerie to make out whom they belonged to, it was simply too dark.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

An excited murmur went through the group of first years that quickly turned into loud "Oooohs" and "Aaaaahs" as the path opened up onto the edge of a great black lake with a surface so calm, Valerie wouldn't have been able to tell it was there had she not seen the fleet of small boats sitting in the water.

She looked up and caught her breath. There, perched atop a mountain on the other side of the lake was the most gigantic castle she'd ever seen. Hundreds of windows sparkled golden in the distance, like the stars high above them in the sky, their lights reflecting on the pitch-black surface of the water. Valerie tried to count the many turrets and towers but Hagrid's deep voice pulled her out of her thoughts and away from the glamour that was Hogwarts.

"No more'n four to a boat!" he called, pointing to the fleet of small boats Valerie had detected earlier.

She followed Charles into one of them, losing sight of her brother for a moment but saw him and Ron climbing into the one next to them, accompanied by a devastated looking boy and a girl with bushy brown hair.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who was so tall that he needed a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"

And without another word, the small boats started gliding across the lake effortlessly. Valerie stretched out her hand and dipped it into the lack water. To her surprise, it wasn't as cold as she'd anticipated but it wasn't exactly warm either.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid suddenly and Charles elbowed her lightly to get her attention.

They'd reached the cliff the massive castle was perched on and all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.

Behind it was a long, dark tunnel that had to be taking them right underneath the castle from what it looked like. With a shiver, Valerie realised that it had become even colder now that they'd entered the cave.

The small fleet came to a halt at what looked like a kind of underground harbour und Hagrid instructed them to climb out of their boats and follow him.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" he said suddenly. while checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" someone cried blissfully, and Valerie recognised the boy from earlier who'd had that sad expression on his face when they'd first entered the boats.

They followed Hagrid up a narrow passageway that was as slippery and wet as the path leading down to the lake and by the time their feet finally touched the smooth surface of damp grass, Valerie's socks were soaked.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around Hagrid who'd come to a halt in front of a huge Oak front door that loomed invitingly before the shivering first years.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?", Hagrid asked as he let his dark eyes sweep over the group, before raising his fist to knock on the door.

* * *

 **So, the sorting ceremony is next which I'm really looking forward to. :)**


End file.
